' 

•    -    '  '    '• 


EDWIN  C.   VOORHIES 


COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 
DAVIS,  CALIFORNIA 


SlOliroathvny 


A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 


ON  THE 


ENSILAGE  OF  FODDER  CORN. 


MANLY  MILES,  M.   D.,  F.  R.  M.  S 


NEW  YOBK  : 


ORAJSTGE  JUDD  COMPANY, 

1895. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

LIBRARY 

COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 
DAViS 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1889,  by 

ORANGE  JUDD  CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


PEEFACE. 

The  literature  of  ensilage  consists,  in  the  main,  of 
the  experience  of  individuals  under  a  great  variety  of 
conditions,  and  the  inferences  or  impressions  derived 
from  a  limited  range  of  observation,  as  recorded  in  Ag- 
ricultural reports  and  papers. 

In  experiments  relating  to  the  chemistry  of  ensilage, 
the  factors  of  dominant  interest,  so  far  as  the  cause  of 
the  changes  taking  place  in  the  fodder  are  concerned, 
have  been  almost  entirely  neglected,  and  but  little  real 
progress  has  been  made  in  our  knowledge  of  the  econo- 
mies of  the  silo. 

From  a  practical  standpoint  it  seems  desirable,  at  the 
present  time,  to  collate  the  well  known  facts  in  regard 
to  the  practice  of  ensilage  and  bring  them  into  some 
consistent  relation  with  definite  principles,  in  harmony 
with  the  latest  developments  of  science. 

This  will  not  only  aid  the  farmer  in  deciding  upon  the 
best  methods  of  practice,  but  it  will  clear  the  way  for 
needed  scientific  investigations,  by  suggesting  and  defin- 
ing the  lines  of  research  that  may  be  profitably  followed 
to  obtain  a  consistent  explanation  of  the  complex  changes 
taking  place  in  the  ensilage  of  fodder. 

,  Michigan,  June,  1889. 


72715 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
FIRST  PRINCIPLES Page  7 

CHAPTER  II. 
HISTORICAL.  SILOS  FOR  STORING  GRAIN 9 

CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORICAL.    SILOS  FOR  PRESERVING  GREEN  FODDER 18 

CHAPTER   IV. 

FERMENTATION 39 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  SILO 62 

CHAPTER  VI. 
How  TO  BUILD  A  SILO 67 

CHAPTER  VII. 
FODDER  CROPS  FOR  ENSILAGE 77 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
FILLING  THE  SILO 85 

CHAPTER  IX. 
ENSILAGE  AND  FARM  ECONOMY 92 


(5) 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AXD   SILAGE. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

FIRST  PRINCIPLES. 

The  preservation  of  green  fodder  for  winter  feeding 
has  for  many  years  engaged  the  attention  of  practical 
men  as  a  matter  of  great  economic  interest,  and  the 
results  obtained  in  the  many  attempts  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem mark  a  gradual  process  of  development  which  must 
be  recognized  as  a  phase  of  the  law  of  evolution,  which  is 
now  generally  accepted  as  an  essential  factor  of  human 
progress. 

In  his  "  History  of  the  Inductive  Sciences,"  Whewell 
emphasizes  the  fact  that  "  in  all  cases  the  arts  are  prior 
to  the  related  sciences,"  and  that  "powers  of  practical 
skill" — "prepare  the  way  for  theoretical  views  and  sci- 
entific discoveries." 

The  history  of  the  development  of  the  best  practice  ki 
the  preservation  of  green  fodder  furnishes  a  good  illus- 
tration of  the  correctness  of  Whewell's  views  in  regard 
to  the  relations  of  Art  and  Science,  as  we  find  that  the 
progress  of  practical  discovery  has  always  been  in  ad- 
vance of  the  theoretical  or  scientific  explanation  of  the 
results  obtained,  and,  moreover,  it  must  even  be  admit- 
ted that  the  indiscreet  application  of  theories  in  science, 
based  on  imperfect  data  and  hasty  generalizations,  have 
a  tendency  to  retard  the  real  progress  of  practical  meth- 
ods, by  directing  attention  to  unimportant  details. 

For  at  least  half  a  century  green  fodder  has  been  suc- 
cessfully preserved  in  silos,  and  yet  we  knew  nothing  of 
the  causes  of  fermentation  until  Pasteur  established  the 
true  theory  of  the  process  by  his  masterly  investigations, 
from  1857  to  1869,  and  proved  conclusively  that  living 
organisms  were  the  active  and  essential  factors  of  fer- 


8  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

mentation  and  putrefaction,  and  even  then  the  new  the- 
ory was  reluctantly  adopted  by  chemists. 

It  has  been  difficult  to  obtain  a  general  recognition  of 
the  fact  that  the  changes  taking  place  in  green  fodder, 
when  preserved  in  silos,  are  essentially,  and  perhaps 
almost  exclusively,  the  result  of  biological  processes,  and 
that  the  observed  chemical  transformations  are  but  inci- 
dents of  physiological  activities  and  therefore  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  independent  of  the  ordinary  laws  of  com- 
bination which  obtain  in  inorganic  chemistry. 

From  what  is  now  known  of  the  phenomena  of  fer- 
mentation it  is  evident  that  biological  lines  of  investiga- 
tion must  be  followed  to  place  the  science  of  ensilage 
fully  abreast  of  the  best  practice. 

The  terms  "silo"  and  "ensilage"  were  familiarly 
used  in  the  French  agricultural  papers  as  early  as  1870, 
while  the  English  papers  of  the  same  date  referred  to 
the  French  experiments  as  the  "pitting"  or  "potting" 
of  green  fodder.  In  a  communication  to  the  "Country 
Gentleman"  of  October  5th,  1876,  giving  an  outline  of 
the  discovery  and  progress  of  ensilage  in  France,  and  of 
my  own  experiments  in  1875,  I  made  use  of  the  word 
silo,  and  suggested  the  adoption  of  the  word  ensilage,  in 
the  absence  of  any  English  equivalent.  Since  that  time 
these  terms  have  been  in  common  use  in  this  country, 
but  as  the  word  ensilage  is  used  in  a  double  sense,  one  of 
its  meanings  may  be  best  expressed  by  the  word  silage, 
which  has  been  introduced  in  England  with  advantage 
within  the  past  four  or  five  years. 

For  the  convenience  of  those  not  familiar  with  these 
terms,  the  following  definitions  may  be  given  as  repre- 
senting the  present  nomenclature  of  the  subject. 

Silo:  a  closed  pit,  or  reservoir,  in  which  either  dry 
grain,  or  green  fodder  is  preserved. 

Silage:  the  green  fodder  preserved  in  a  silo. 

Ensilage:  the  process  of  preserving  green  fodder  in 
silos. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  9 

Any  green  crops  may  be  preserved  in  silos;  in  Eng- 
land, meadow  grass,  clover,  tares,  rye,  oats,  and  rye- 
grass,  are  the  leading  crops  ensilaged,  while  in  this 
country,  the  ensilage  of  fodder  corn  has  received  a  larger 
share  of  attention. 

In  studying  the  history  of  ensilage  it  will  be  necessary 
to  keep  in  mind  the  two  leading  purposes  to  which  silos 
are  adapted.  Among  the  ancients  they  were  only  used 
for  storing  and  preserving  dry  grain;  while  in  modern 
practice  they  are  used  almost  exclusively  for  preserving 
green  fodder. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HISTORICAL. — SILOS    FOE    STORING  GRAIN. 

From  the  earliest  times  of  which  we  have  any  record, 
silos  have  been  used  for  the  storage  of  grain,  either 
threshed,  or  in  the  ear.  According  to  the  best  author- 
ity, the  word  silo  is  derived  from  the  Greek,  and  intro- 
duced to  France  from  Spain.* 

Pliny  says,  "the  best  plan,  however,  of  preserving 
grain,  is  to  lay  it  up  in  trenches,  called  '  Siri/  as  they  do 
in  Cappadocia,  Thracia,  Spain,  and  at in  Af- 
rica. Particular  care  is  taked  to  dig  these  trenches  in  a 
dry  soil,  and  a  layer  of  chaff  is  then  placed  at  the  bot- 
tom; the  grain,  too,  is  always  stored  in  the  ear.  In  this 
case,  if  no  air  is  allowed  to  penetrate  to  the  corn,  we  may 
rest  assured  that  no  noxious  insects  will  ever  breed  in  it. 
Varro  says,  that  wheat,  if  thus  stored,  will  keep  as  long 

*E.  Littre,  "  Dictionnaire  de  la  langue  Francaise."  La  Chatre,  "  Noveau  Dic- 
tionnaire  Universal."  See  also  Jenkins'  "Practice  of  Ensilage,"  Jour.  Roy.  Ag. 
Soc.  1884,  pp.  127-8. 


10 


SILOS,    EXSILAGE   AKD   SILAGE. 


as  fifty  years,  and  millet  a  hundred;  and  he  assures  us 
that  beans  and  other  leguminous  grain,  if  put  away  in 
oil  jars  with  a  covering  of  ashes,  will  keep  for  a  great 
length  of  time.  He  makes  a  statement,  also,  to  the 
effect  that  some  beans  were  preserved  in  a  cavern  in 


B  IB  IB  I  G  IB  I  Q  IB 


FIG.   1. 


JSeni  Hassan. 


Ambracia,  from  the  time  of  King  Pyrrhus  until  the 
piratical  war  of  Pompeius  Magnus,  a  period  of  about 
two  hundred  and  twenty  years."* 


a  b  c 

FIG.  2.  Thebes. 

In  ancient   Egypt,    according   to  Wilkinson,    "The 
granaries  were  also  apart  from  the  house,  and  were  en- 

*Nat.  Hist.  Vol.  IV,  p.  106.    Bohn's  Classical  Library.    Foure  Bookes  of  Hus- 
bandrie,  by  Conradus  Heresbachius,  1586,  p.  48. 


SILOS,    E.NSILAGE   AHD   SILAGE.  11 

closed  with  a  separate  wall ;  and  some  of  the  rooms  in 
which  they  housed  the  grain  appear  to  have  had  vaulted 
roofs.  These  were  filled  through  an  aperture  near  the 
top,  to  which  the  men  ascended  by  steps,  and  the  grain 
when  wanted  was  taken  out  from  a  door  at  the  base."* 

These  storage  rooms  were,  in  fact,  silos  of  masonry 
above  ground,  and  a  marked  improvement  on  the  rude 
trenches  mentioned  by  Pliny. 

In  an  interesting  article  on  Ensilage  by  Mr.  H.  W. 
Jenkins,  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of 
England,  it  is  stated  that  the  practice  of  storing  grain  in 
silos  was  brought  by  the  Moors  into  Spain  ;  but  the  state- 
ment of  Pliny  given  above,  in  connection  with  other  his- 
torical data,  would  lead  to  the  more  probable  supposi- 
tion that  the  Eomans  introduced  the  system  into  Spain, 
as  well  as  other  grain-growing  provinces  of  the  Empire, 
and  that  if  the  Moors  brought  silos  into  notice  for  the 
preservation  of  grain,  it  was  but  a  revival  of  an  old 
Roman  practice,  f 

From  the  many  valuable  suggestions  in  regard  to  the 
storing  of  grain  contained  in  the  paper  by  Mr.  Jenkins, 
we  quote  as  follows:  "  In  France,  the  system  of  ensilage 
was  originally  imported  from  Spain,  with  a  view  to  the 
preservation  of  cereals  from  years  of  plenty  to  years  of 
scarcity.  It  is  recorded  by  Mons.  L.  Doye*re,  that  the 
proprietor  of  the  estate  of  Palerne,  in  the  Puy  de  Dome, 
put  his  corn,  harvested  in  1820  and  1821,  in  silos  con- 
structed for  the  purpose,  and  kept  the  grain  in  them 
until  the  end  of  1828,  when,  prices  having  risen  to 


*"The  Ancient  Egyptians,"  by  Wilkinson,  Vol.  1,  pp.  31-32,  from  which  Figs. 
1  and  2  are  copied. 

tin  a  foot-note  to  Mr.  Jenkins'  paper  (1.  c.  p.  128),  a  quotation  is  given  from  a 
French  work  published  in  1804,  as  follows:  "In  1707  there  was  discovered  in 
the  citadel  of  Metz  a  large  quantity  of  corn  (grain) ,  placed  there  in  1528,  in  one 
of  the  underground  rooms,  where  it  was  so  well  preserved  that  the  bread  which 
was  made  from  it,  two  centuries  after  it  had  been  placed  there  was  found  very 
good.  There  exists  now  (1804),  at  Ardres,  department  of  the  Pas  de  Calais,  one 
of  these  underground  places  made  by  the  Romans." 


12  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

double  their  figure  of  seven  years  before,  he  opened  the 
silos  and  found  the  grain  practically  uninjured.  It  is 
true  that  a  small  layer  at  the  top,  immediately  under 
the  straw  which  separated  the  grain  from  the  hermet- 
ically sealed  cover,  was  a  little  mouldy,  and  the  silo  con- 
tained a  quantity  of  carbonic-acid  gas  when  first  opened. 
But  the  bulk  of  the  grain  was  perfectly  preserved,  and 
the  proprietor  of  the  estate  was  so  satisfied  with  his  suc- 
cess that  he  gave  instructions  for  other  silos  to  be  built. 
"Unfortunately,  his  death  shortly  afterwards  put  an  end 
to  his  projects. 

"So  far  as  I  can  judge,  the  first  Frenchman  to  call 
attention  to  this  method  of  preserving  corn  was 
Count  de  Lasteyrie,  who  published  a  work  on  the  sub- 
ject in  1819.  Then  a  trial  of  the  system  was  made  by 
M.  Ternaux,  at  Saint  Ouen,  and  the  'Societe  royal  et 
centrale  d?  Agriculture  de  France'  appointed  a  commis- 
sion to  report  on  the  experiment.  This  report,  pre- 
sented in  December,  1826,  was  eminently  unfavorable, 
and  for  a  considerable  time  prevented  any  further  at- 
tempts at  the  ensilage  of  corn.  M.  Doy&re  explains  that 
the  conditions  under  which  the  experiment  was  made 
were  so  extremely  unfavorable,  that  failure  was  a  fore- 
gone conclusion.  He  mentions  specially  a  very  porous 
sub-soil  close  to  the  Seine,  and  subject  to  infiltrations 
of  water  from  it,  no  attempt  to  render  the  walls  of  the 
silo  water-tight,  and  so  forth.  Therefore  one  need  not 
wonder  that  the  corn  was  not  well  preserved. 

"After  the  publication  of  M.  Doyere's  report  on  the 
Alucite  of  wheat,  he  was  commissioned  by  the  French 
government  to  investigate  more  closely  the  question  of 
the  preservation  of  cereals  in  silos,  more  especially  in 
Spain.  His  report  was  presented  to  the  French  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences  at  the  end  of  1855,  and  published  the 
following  year  as  a  pamphlet.  Without  stopping  to 
analyze  this  report,  I  think  it  desirable  to  give  the  fol- 


SILOS,   EHSILAGE  AND  SILAGE.  13 

lowing  translation  of  an  article  from  a  French  Encyclo- 
pedia,* which  embodies  most  of  M.  Doy&re's  con- 
clusions". 

"  The  Preservation  of  Cereals.  This  question  inter- 
ests in  the  highest  degree  every  civilized  country.  It  is 
important  for  the  welfare  of  nations  that,  when  the  har- 
vest is  superabundant  and  the  corn  at  a  low  price,  a  part 
of  the  produce  in  excess  should  be  preserved,  so  as  to 
circulate  the  same  when  a  bad  harvest  arrives  unexpect- 
edly, and  the  price  of  corn  tends  to  rise  above  the  ordi- 
nary value.  But  two  natural  obstacles  exist  to  the  pres- 
ervation of  corn.  They  are  (1)  the  dampness,  which 
causes  it  to  ferment,  and  (2)  the  insects  which  destroy 
considerable  quantities  of  it. 

"In  Egypt,  where  it  never  rains,  and  in  other  coun- 
tries where  rains  are  rare,  the  problem  is  easily  solved  by 
the  employment  of  the  'silo.'  The  'silo'  is  simply  an 
excavation,  the  sides  of  which  are  lined  with  masonry, 
then  relined,  as  also  is  the  bottom,  with  a  layer  of  very 
dry  straw.  After  the  pit  or  silo  has  been  filled,  the 
grain  is  covered  with  straw,  and  the  silo  is  closed  by 
means  of  an  arch  in  masonry,  in  which  is  placed  an 
opening  with  a  movable  lid,  so  that  one  can  take  out  the 
grain  from  it  as  needed. 

"The  grain  is  preserved  in  the  silo,  without  injury, 
for  an  indefinite  time.  But  in  France,  as  in  all  northern 
countries,  the  ensilage  of  the  grain  has  not  succeeded, 
and  this  is  attributed  to  the  humidity  of  the  soil,  which 
penetrates  to  the  interior  of  even  the  best-constructed 
silos.  Then  it  has  been  observed  that  corn,  properly 
ventilated,  is  less  liable  to  become  heated  in  the  gran- 
aries, than  that  left  alone.  It  was  believed  that  the 
problem  had  been  solved  by  the  airing  and  ventilation 
of  the  grain. 

*  Dictionnalre  Francaise  illustr**  et  ency'l.  Universelle,  par  B.  Duplney  de  Vore- 
pierre,  Paris:  Michael-Levy  fr£res,  1867,  T.  1,  p.  503, 


14  SILOS,    EHSILAGE   AtfD   SILAGE. 

"  Moving  granaries,  and  granaries  with  ventilators, 
were  suggested,  but  they  are  all  extremely  expensive,  and 
they  do  not  safely  prevent  fermentation.  They  also  pre- 
sent no  obstable  to  the  development  of  insects.  The 
success  that  has  been  obtained  by  using  these  means 
appears  to  be  simply  due  to  the  dryness  of  the  wheat. 
But,  as  Doyere  has  asserted,  dry  grain  can  be  preserved 
for  a  certain  time  by  any  means.  But  it  is  not  the  same 
with  wet  grain, — that  is  to  say,  grain  containing  more 
than  16  per  cent,  of  water,  as  the  greater  part  of  French 
corn  does.  '  I  found/  says  Doyere,  '  that  corn  containing 
21  per  cent,  of  water,  furnishes,  at  68°  Fahr.  (20°  cen- 
tigrade), 120  milligrammes  of  carbonic  acid  per  day  and 
per  kilogramme  (about  2  1-2  Ibs.  English),  in  a  state  of 
rest ;  and  about  17  milligrammes  per  hour  under  the 
influence  of  a  constant  current  of  air,  which  latter 
amount  would  make  408  milligrammes  per  day.  Ven- 
tilation, therefore,  trebles  the  amount  of  decomposition, 
of  which  carbonic  acid  is  one  of  the  products. 

"  The  last  of  these  losses  is  enormous,  for  it  represents 
not  less  than  2  1-2  per  cent,  of  dry  matter  destroyed 
each  month,  owing  to  alcoholic  fermentation.  It  is 
probable  that  it  would  not  be  continued  indefinitely  to 
the  same  extent  as  it  hiippens  for  several  hours  ;  but  it 
is  renewed  with  the  same  energy  during  the  whole  time 
of  an  intermittent  ventilation.  Otherwise,  the  loss  of 
120  milligrammes  of  carbonic  acid  per  day,  which  hardly 
requires  any  renewal  of  air,  suffices  to  repel  the  hope  of 
a  preservation  of  long  duration,  for  it  represents  a  de- 
struction of  dry  matter  amounting  to  7  per  1000  per 
month. 

"  '  This  is  not  only  the  loss  in  weight,  for  the  loss  in 
quality  which  results  from  the  formation  of  sour  and 
rank  products  is  incomparably  more  to  be  feared.  Fi- 
nally, as  the  loss  takes  place  in  a  temperature  relatively 
low,  that  of  68°  Fahr.,  it  would  not  only  increase  with 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  15 

the  temperature,  but  even  much  more  rapidly.  There- 
fore when  the  grain  is  wet,  the  airing  produces  an  effect 
very  much  opposed  to  that  which  is  commonly  looked 
for.'  The  results  of  the  experiences  of  Doyere  show  that, 
in  the  grain  containing  less  than  16  per  cent,  of  water, 
there  is  only  produced  an  alcoholic  fermentation,  exces- 
sively weak,  without  developing  odor  or  taste,  and  only 
to  be  perceived  by  the  most  delicate  processes  of  chem- 
istry. 

"  In  other  cases  even  this  fermentation  is  stopped  in 
closed  vessels.  After  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  which  is  its 
primitive  cause,  has  completely  disappeared,  no  other 
acid  but  carbonic  acid  is  formed  ;  the  starch  and  gluten 
undergo  no  change.  Towards  16  per  cent,  of  humidity, 
or  a  little  beyond  it,  the  alteration  in  the  grain  begins 
to  show  itself,  in  the  course  of  time,  in  the  closed  ves- 
sels. Its  relative  activity  in  corn  of  various  degrees  of 
humidity,  increases  with  the  proportion  of  water,  but 
much  more  rapidly  than  the  humidity  itself.  It  is  due 
to  fermentation,  called  by  the  chemists  lactic,  butyric, 
and  gaseous.  Consequently,  whatever  may  be  the  means 
employed,  it  is  impossible  to  preserve  grain  wet,  as  it 
generally  is  in  France.  The  excessive  humidity  of  corn 
in  our  country  ought  not,  however,  to  be  attributed 
only  to  the  climate,  and  climatic  influences,  in  which 
the  grain  has  been  harvested.  Agricultural  customs 
have  much  to  do  with  ifc.  In  the  greater  part  of  France 
the  wheat  is  cut  half  green,  and  is  hastily  put  into  the 
granary,  or  made  into  ricks,  where  it  immediately  begins 
to  ferment.  If,  as  we  think,  the  observations  of  Doyere 
are  correct,  it  is  evident  that  the  corn  intended  to  be 
preserved  must  be  dried,  in  the  first  instance,  if  it  con- 
tains 16  per  cent,  of  humidity,  or  more.  As  to  the 
place  where  it  is  best  to  keep  it,  the  silo  appears  to  us 
infinitely  preferable  to  the  granary,  for  the  latter  is  open 
to  the  outer  air,  and  exposed  to  all  variations  of  tem- 
perature. 


16  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

"Now,  air  introduces  a  means  of  fermentation  of  the 
grain,  as  well  as  a  means  of  life  for  insects,  while  varia- 
tions of  temperature  favor  the  chemical  phenomena  of 
which  the  grain  becomes  the  seat. 

"  The  underground  silo  in  masonry  offers  this  great 
advantage  over  the  granary  :  that  of  preserving  a  low  and 
constant  temperature ;  but  it  is  nob  completely  inacces- 
sible to  the  air,  and  it  is  impossible  to  render  it  imper- 
vious to  humidity.  As  a  set-off  to  these  two  last  incon- 
veniences, Doyere  proposed  employing  metals.  His 
system  of  construction  consisted  of  some  very  thin  sheets 
of  iron,  preserved  exteriorly  from  oxydation  by  an  im- 
permeable covering,  and  enveloped  in  concrete,  which 
sustains  the  whole  weight.  The  sheet  of  iron,  he  says, 
only  plays  the  part  of  an  impervious  and  indestructible 
varnish.  It  offers,  besides,  the  advantage  of  supplying 
holes  which  can  be  shut  up  hermetically.  Finally,  a 
silo  of  500  hectolitres  (1376  bu.),  constructed  according 
to  this  system,  at  Paris,  with  a  sheet  of  iron  of  a  mean 
thickness  of  3  millimetres,  and  made  at  a  cost  of  2  1.  the 
cwt.  (1  fr.  per  kilo),  has  only  cost,  including  the  as- 
phalte  covering,  2250  francs  (90  1.),  or  4  fr.  50c.  per 
hectolitre  (1  s.  4  d.  per  bushel).  Therefore  it  is  seen 
that,  instead  of  being  led  into  error  by  ruinous  experi- 
ments on  the  faith  of  theories,  either  preconceived,  or 
else  deduced  from  facts  wrongly  interpreted,  it  is  simply 
a  question  of  appropriating  for  our  climate  the  means 
consecrated  by  the  experience  of  centuries  in  all  warm 
countries."  * 

Notwithstanding  the  defective  theoretical  views,  which 
were  in  accord  with  the  science  of  the  time,  these  rec- 
ords of  investigations,  made  more  than  thirty  years  ago, 
are  of  interest  as  showing  the  value  of  exact  experi- 
mental methods  in  their  relations  to  practice.  As  an 
outcome  of  these  studies  of  the  essential  conditions  for 


*  Jour.  Roy.  AKT'I.  Soc.  1884  pp.  120-132. 


SILOS,    EKSILAGE  AND  SILAGE.  17 

the  preservation  of  grain,  silos  are  used  on  an  extensive 
scale,  for  the  storage  of  grain,  by  the  Paris  Omnibus 
Company,  "some  silos  being  below  ground  and  some 
above.1'  * 

In  the  evolution  of  the  silo,  for  storing  grain,  from 
the  rude  trenches  mentioned  by  Pliny,  to  the  permanent 
structures  of  masonry  of  the  Egyptians,  and  the  more 
perfect  construction  required  in  the  comparatively  hu- 
mid climate  of  France,  there  was  undoubtedly  a  great 
variety  of  forms  developed  by  experience  to  adapt  the 
details  of  practice  to  the  conditions  of  each  locality; 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  system  had  a  wider  geograph- 
ical range  than  our  imperfect  history  of  agricultural 
practice  seems  to  indicate.  At  the  time  of  the  discov- 
ery of  America  by  Columbus,  Indian  corn  was  stored 
in  pits  by  the  natives,  and  the  tribes  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi still  continue  the  practice. 

It  is,  perhaps,  reasonable  to  assume  that  it  was  a  com- 
mon method  of  storing  grain,  among  savage  and  migra- 
tory tribes,  to  conceal  it  from  their  enemies  and  to  pro- 
vide against  seasons  of  scarcity. 

*  Jenkins,  1.  c.  p.  129,  who  refers  to  a  "  Report  by  M  Muntz, '  Etudes  sur  la  con- 
servation des  grains,'  published  in  the  'Annals  de  1'Institut  National  Agrono- 
mique '  No.  4  of  1878-79,  published  in  1881." 

2 


18  SILOS,   ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORICAL. — SILOS    FOB    PRESERVING    GREEN    FODDER. 

The  preservation  of  green  fodder  in  closed  chambers 
or  pits  was  practiced  in  Europe  previous  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century,  but  the  early  history  of  the 
process  is  involved  in  obscurity. 

In  his  "Observations  made  in  Italy  on  the  use  of 
leaves  in  feeding  cattle/'  published  in  1786,  Prof.  John 
Symonds,  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  says : 
"Among  the  various  kinds  of  winter  food  provided  for 
cattle  in  Italy,  the  use  of  leaves  is  not  the  least  consider- 
able. *  *  *  To  preserve  the  freshness  and  verdure 
of  the  leaves  requires  a  great  deal  of  attention.  To 
effect  this  they  gather  them  about  the  end  of  September, 
or  the  beginning  of  October,  at  the  time  of  day  when 
the  heats  are  most  piercing  ;  and  spread  them  very  thin 
upon  a  pavement  abroad,  where  they  suffer  them  to  lie 
three  or  four -hours;  after  which  they  put  them  into 
wooden  casks,  and  press  them  down  as  closely  as  possi- 
ble, and  cover  them  entirely  with  sand.  The  very 
moment  after  they  have  taken  out  the  quantity  which  is 
wanted,  they  stop  up  the  casks,  lest  the  leaves  should 
be  exposed  to  the  air ;  by  which  method  they  are  ena- 
bled to  keep  them  both  fresh  and  tender  during  the 
whole  winter.  It  is  customary  for  the  peasants  in  some 
parts  of  Italy  to  bury  them  in  a  pit,  and  to  cover  them 
with  straw,  upon  which  they  lay  either  clay  or  sand  ; 
and  both  are  equally  calculated  to  answer  the  purpose."  * 

Green  fodder  was  preserved  in  silos  quite  a  number  of 
years  ago  in  Germany  and  Hungary,  in  the  form  of 
"sour,"  or  "brown"  hay,  but  we  have  no  record  of  the 

*  Young's  Annals  of  Agriculture  (1786),  Vol.  1,  pp.  207-9. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  19 

origin  of  the  process,  or  of  the  conditions  which  led  to 
its  development.  Although  frequently  mentioned  by 
writers  on  continental  agriculture,  the  first  detailed 
description  of  the  process,  by  an  English  author,  so  far 
as  I  can  learn,  was  given  by  Prof.  J.  F.  W.  Johnston, 
in  a  paper  "  On  the  Feeding  Qualities  of  the  Natural 
and  Artificial  Grasses  in  different  states  of  dryness," 
published  in  the  "  Transactions  of  the  Highland  and 
Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland,"  for  1843-45.* 

As  Prof.  Johnston's  paper  contains  matter  of  general 
interest,  that  is  not  accessible  to  many  of  our  readers, 
we  make  the  following  extended  quotation.  The  first 
paragraph,  as  will  be  seen,  may  well  be  applied  to  our 
present  knowledge  of  the  economy  of  green  feed. 

"  Much  knowledge  remains  yet  to  be  acquired  in  ref- 
erence to  the  most  economical  mode  of  using  green  crops 
as  food  for  cattle.  It  is  true  that  there  exists  much  val- 
uable information  floating  among  intelligent  practical 
men,  but  when  the  unprejudiced  inquirer  begins  to  col- 
lect, with  the  view  of  fixing  this  floating  knowledge,  he 
meets  with  opinions  so  contradictory,  even  from  men  of 
equal  intelligence  and  skill,  that  he  must  be  well  ac- 
quainted with  those  causes  which  affect  the  results  of 
agricultural  operations  in  different  localities,  before  he 
can  hope  to  approach  the  truth,  or  to  extract  anything 
like  general  principles  from  the  testimony  of  practical 
men  alone. 

*  From  a  foot  note  to  Prof.  Johnston's  paper  it  appears  that  the  original  source 
of  information,  in  part,  at  least,  was  "  Verhandlung  des  Baltischen  Veieins  fur 
Forderung  des  Landwirthschaft.  Greifswald,  1842,  p.  38."  An  abstract  of  Prof. 
Johnston's  description  of  the  sour  hay  process  was  published  in  Stephens' 
"  Book  of  the  farm,"  1844,  Vol.  3,  p.  978.  In  H.  R.  Stevens'  book  on  "  Ensilage," 
1881,  p.  20,  Prof.  J.  M.  M'Bryde,  in  a  notice  of  the  sour  hay  of  Germany  says, 
"This  process  is  fully  described  by  Grieswald  (1842);  and  a  translation  of  the 
passage  is  given  in  Stevens'  (sic.)  large  work,  'The  Farmer's  Guide,'  which 
appeared  in  1851,"  and  "the  extract  in  full"  then  follows.  The  extract  here 
given  is  a  reprint  of  the  abstract  of  Prof.  Johnston's  article  as  printed  in 
Stephens'  Book  of  the  Farm,  above  noticed,  and  Greifswald  is  a  small  town 
near  the  Baltic,  in  the  province  of  Pomcrania,  where  the  "  Transactions  of  the 
Baltic  Society  for  the  promotion  of  Agriculture,"  the  original  authority,  were 
published. 


20  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND  SILAGE. 

"  The  opinions  of  practical  agriculturists  are  derived  in 
general  from  their  own  experience,  and  from  that  of 
their  neighbors,  in  a  limited  district  only.  In  distant 
parts  of  the  country,  we  know  that  these  opinions  are 
often  quite  opposed  to  each  other ;  yet  the  phenomena 
from  which  the  cultivators  of  each  province  have  deduced 
their  opposite  opinions,  are  the  natural  results  of  the 
same  general  laws.  It  is  these  laws  which  the  philo- 
sophical agriculturist  seeks  to  discover. 

"  The  above  observations  apply,  among  other  topics,  to 
the  opinions  held  in  different  localities  in  regard  to  the 
relative  feeding  properties  of  the  natural  and  artificial 
grasses  in  their  green  and  dry  states, — their  relative 
value  when  made  into  hay  after  one  or  another  method, 
and  when  used  at  one  or  another  season  of  the  year. 
*  *  *  But  it  is  also  said, — and  I  believe,  as  a  gen- 
eral principle,  is  also  conceded, — that  the  same  weight 
of  the  same  grass  will  go  further  in  the  green  state  than 
when  it  is  made  into  hay. 

"But  there  appears  to  be  a  great,  and  so  far  as  I  am 
capable  of  judging,  a  well-founded  difference  in  regard 
to  the  amount  of  nourishment  lost  by  the  act  of  drying. 
By  some  it  is  stated  to  amount  to  one-half ;  a  ton  of 
green  rye-grass  or  clover  going  as  far  as  two  tons  when 
made  into  hay.  This  proportion  cannot  be  general ;, 
but  since  differences  so  great  may  exist,  according  to  the 
eviderce  of  practical  men,  it  becomes  a  matter  of  inter- 
est to  inquire  how  this  difference  arises,  and  if  by  any 
means  it  can  be  avoided  or  diminished." 
"  When  the  soft  young  shoots  of  the  dog-rose,  the  bram- 
ble, or  the  hawthorn,  or  the  stem  of  the  young  cab- 
bage, are  cut  off  and  peeled,  they  are  found  to  be  soft 
and  eatable,  and,  like  the  heart, of  the  young  turnip, 
are  readily  digestible  ;  but  let  a  month  or  two  elapse, 
and  these  shoots  become  woody  and  unfit  for  mastica- 
tion, and,  when  taken  into  the  stomach,  pass  through 


SILOS,    EXSILAGE   AKD   SILAGE.  21 

the  intestines  of  most  animals  in  a  great  measure  un- 
changed. Thus,  animals  which  thrive  on  the  young 
shoots  of  early  spring,  can  with  difficulty  sustain  them- 
selves on  the  more  matured  branches  of  the  advancing 
summer.  The  reason  of  this  difference  is,  that  the 
starch  and  gum,  and  similar  soluble  and  digestible  sub- 
stances of  which  the  young  shoot  consists,  are  gradually 
changed  into  the  insoluble  and,  in  general,  almost  indi- 
gestible woody  fibre  of  which  the  stem  and  branches  of 
the  mature  plant  are  in  great  part  composed. 

"  When  green  grass  or  clover,  approaching  to  maturity, 
is  first  cut  down,  it  contains  a  considerable  proportion 
of  starch,  sugar,  and  gum,  still  unchanged  into  woody 
fibre,  as  it  would  mostly  be  were  the  plant  allowed  to 
become  fully  ripe.  But  when  left  to  dry  in  the  open 
air,  the  circulation  proceeds  to  a  certain  extent,  and, 
under  the  influence  of  light,  woody  fibre  continues  to  be 
formed  in  the  upper  part  of  each  stem,  until  it  becomes 
completely  dry.  It  may  even  be  a  matter  of  doubt 
whether  this  process  of  change  does  not  often  proceed 
after  the  hay  has  been  carried  off  the  field  and  stacked. 

"  The  effect  of  this  change  will  obviously  be  to  render 
the  dry  hay  less  digestible,  on  the  whole,  and,  conse- 
quently, less  valuable  as  food,  than  the  green  grass  from 
which  it  was  prepared. 

66  Again,  we  know  that  by  drying,  many  very  digestible 
and  nourishing  substances  become  less  soluble,  and  con- 
sequently, more  difficult  of  digestion.  The  stomach  of 
a  growing  animal  cannot  afford  the  time  necessary  to 
the  complete  digestion  of  such  dry  substances,  and 
hence  a  larger  portion  of  the  really  nutritive  matter  of 
their  food  is  rejected  in  the  droppings  of  animals  which 
are  fed  upon  them.  How  much  of  dry  corn  escapes, 
half  digested,  from  the  stomach  of  the  horse, — how 
much,  probably,  of  the  animal  matter  of  the  bones  it 
eats,  from  the  stomach  of  the  dog, — which  either  of 


2%  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

these  animals  would  have  been  able  fully  to  digest,  and 
to  work  up  for  its  own  sustenance,  had  the  food  been 
presented  to  it  in  a  less  hard  and  solid  state  !  So  it 
must  be,  to  a  certain  extent,  with  dried  hay.  What 
was  easily  soluble  and  digestible  in  the  green,  has,  with- 
out undergoing  any  chemical  change,  become  less  solu- 
ble and  more  tardily  digestible  in  the  dry,  and  hence  a 
second  reason  why  the  hay  should  afford  less  nourish- 
ment than  the  grass  from  which  it  is  made. 

"  The  knowledge  of  these  two  causes  of  deterioration 
suggests  the  kind  of  inquiries  which  the  practical  farmer 
ought  to  make,  and  the  kind  of  practice  he  ought  to 
adopt,  in  order  to  retain  as  much  as  possible  of  the  feed- 
ing property  of  his  grass  and  clover  crops,  and  thus  to 
turn  to  the  greatest  advantage  the  annual  produce  of 
his  land.  Thus  he  may  ask — Is  it  possible  to  preserve 
these  crops  in  their  moist  state  ?  Can  I  cut  them  down 
and  so  preserve  them  undried,  as  to  obtain  from  them, 
for  my  cattle,  an  amount  of  food  more  nearly  equal  to 
that  which  the  fresh  cut  grass  is  capable  of  affording  ? 
A  method  has  lately  been  tried  in  Germany,  which,  by 
the  aid  of  a  little  salt,  seems  in  a  great  measure  to  attain 
this  object. 

"  Pits  are  dug  in  the  earth,  from  ten  to  twelve  feet 
square  and  as  many  deep  ;  these  are  lined  with  wood, 
and  puddled  below  and  at  the  sides  with  clay.  They 
may  obviously  be  made  of  any  other  suitable  dimensions, 
and  may  be  lined  with  brick. 

"  Into  this  pit  the  green  crop  of  grass,  clover,  or 
vetches,  is  put  just  as  it  is  cut.  Four  or  five  cwts.  are 
introduced  at  a  time,  sprinkled  with  salt,  at  the  rate  of 
one  pound  to  each  cwt.,  and,  if  the  weather,  and  con- 
sequently the  crop,  be  dry,  two  or  three  quarts  of  water 
to  each  cwt.  should  be  sprinkled  over  every  successive 
layer.  It  is  only  when  rain  or  a  heavy  dew  has  fallen 
before  mowing  that,  in  East  Prussia,  this  watering  is 
considered  unnecessary. 


SILOS,   ENSILAGE  AND  SILAGE.  23 

"Much,  however,  must  depend  on  the  succulency  of 
the  crop.  Each  layer  of  four  or  five  cwts.  is  spread 
evenly  over  the  bottom,  is  well  trodden  down  by  five  or 
six  men,  and,  especially,  is  rammed  as  close  as  possible 
at  the  sides  with  the  aid  of  wooden  rammers. 

"  Each  layer  is  thus  salted,  watered  if  necessary,  and 
trodden  in  succession  till  the  pit  is  perfectly  full. 
Much  depends  upon  the  perfect  treading  of  the  grass 
for  the  exclusion  of  the  air,  and,  therefore,  for  a  pit  of 
ten  feet  square,  four  cwts.  are  as  much  as  ought  to  be 
put  in  for  each  layer.  Between  each  layer  may  be 
strewed  a  few  handfuls  of  straw,  in  order  that,  when 
emptying  the  pit  afterwards  for  the  daily  consumption 
of  the  stock,  the  quantity  taken  out  may  be  known 
without  the  necessity  of  a  second  weighing. 

"  When  the  pit  is  full,  the  topmost  layer  is  well  salted, 
the  whole  then  covered  with  boards,  or  a  well-fitting  lid, 
and  upon  these  a  foot  and  a  half  of  earth,  for  the  more 
perfect  exclusion  of  the  air.  A  pit  ten  feet  square  and 
as  many  deep  will  hold  about  five  tons  of  fresh  grass, 
and  each  pit  should,  if  possible,  be  filled  in  not  less  than 
two  days. 

"When  covered  up  the  grass  speedily  heats  and  fer- 
ments, and  after  the  lapse  of  about  six  days,  when  the 
fermentation  has  ceased,  the  whole  has  sunk  to  about 
one-half  of  its  original  bulk. 

"  The  lid  must  be  examined  during  the  fermentation, 
at  least  once  a  day,  and  the  earth,  as  it  sinks,  carefully 
replaced  wherever  crevices  appear ;  for,  if  the  air  be 
allowed  to  gain  admission,  a  putrefactive  fermentation 
will  come  on,  which  will  impart  a  disagreeable  odor  to 
the  fodder,  though  it  will  not  prevent  it  from  being 
eaten  by  the  stock.  When  the  first  fermentation  has 
ceased,  the  lid  may  be  removed,  the  pit  again  filled  with 
fresh  grass,  trodden  in,  salted,  and  covered  as  before. 


24  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AtfD   SILAGE. 

A  pit  ten  feet  square,  when  perfectly  full  of  this  fer- 
mented grass,  will  contain  nearly  ten  tons — equal  to 
two  or  three  tons  of  dry  hay. 

"The  grass,  when  thus  fermented,  has  the  appearance 
of  having  been  boiled,  has  a  sharp  acid  taste,  and  is 
greedily  eaten  by  the  cattle.  The  pits  should  be  kept 
covered  for,  at  least,  six  weeks,  after  which  they  may  be 
opened  successively  as  they  are  required,  and  may  be 
kept  open  till  their  contents  are  consumed  by  the  cattle 
without  suffering  any  injury  from  the  contact  of  the 
atmospheric  air.  Of  the  feeding  qualities  of  this  salted 
fodder,  one  experimenter  says  that,  by  giving  only 
twenty  pounds  a  day  of  it  along  with  chopped  straw,  he 
kept  his  cows  in  condition  during  the  whole  winter. 
His  green  crop  was  vetches,  and  the  twenty  pounds  of 
salted  fodder  were  equal  to,  or  would  have  made,  less 
than  four  pounds  of  vetch  hay. 

"Another  experimenter  says  that,  on  a  daily  allowance 
of  twenty-eight  pounds  of  his  salted  fodder,  his  cows 
gave  a  rich  and  well-tasted  milk. 

"  This  method  of  salting  and  preserving  green  crops  in 
their  moist  state  appears  to  afford  an  answer  to  the  first 
question  which  is  naturally  asked  when  we  are  told  of 
the  difference  in  feeding  value  between  the  same  grass 
when  first  cut  and  when  dried  into  hay.  It  is  probable 
that  the  fermentation  which  takes  place  in  the  pit  may 
in  some  degree  diminish  the  nutritive  value  of  the  grass, 
but  the  likelihood  which  exists  that  a  very  large  propor- 
tion of  this  value  will  be  retained  renders  the  method 
of  salting  in  this  manner  well  worthy  the  attention  of 
our  more  skillful  agriculturists.  It  would  greatly  ben- 
efit both  theory  and  practice  also,  were  careful  series  of 
experiments  to  be  made  in  different  localities,  with  the 
view  of  determining  the  true  relative  value  in  feeding 
stock  of  the  grass  of  the  same  field  when  newly  cut,  and 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  25 

when  .salted  and  preserved  in  the  manner  above 
described."  * 

In  connection  with  this  paper  by  Prof.  Johnston, 
and  from  its  relations  to  the  general  system  of  ensilage 
and  the  economy  of  cattle  foods,  the  experience  of  Mr. 
Samuel  Jonas,  of  Saffron  Walden,  England,  in  the  pres- 
ervation and  feeding  of  fermented  straw  chaff,  reported 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Eoyal  Agricultural  Society  in 
1869,  and  published  in  1870, f  is  of  particular  interest. 
He  says,  "  Myself  and  sons  have  carried  out  this  system 
of  storing  old  chaff  to  such  an  extent  that  we  are  using 
on  our  occupation  (which  consists  of  4,200  acres  of 
arable  land),  seven  barns  which  were  previously  used 
for  storing  corn." 

He  uses  a  12-horse  power  engine,  which  threshes, 
cleans  and  sacks  the  grain,  ready  for  market,  and  cuts 
the  straw  into  chaff.  The  chaff  is  carefully  packed  in 
the  barns,  and  mixed  with  tares,  or  rye,  cut  green  and 
chaffed,  in  the  proportions  of  about  one  cwt.  of  green 
chaff  to  one  ton  of  straw  chaff,  and  one  bu.  of  salt. 
This  is  done  in  the  spring  or  summer,  and  the  chaff  is 
not  used  until  October  and  the  winter  months.  In  con- 
clusion, Mr.  Jonas  says,  "  I  am  not  stating  that  straw 
chaff  can  be  rendered  as  valuable  as  hay  chaff  for  feed- 
ing purposes,  but  that  it  may,  by  judicious  management, 
be  made  a  very  important  auxiliary  to  the  production  of 
meat  food  for  our  fast  increasing  population.  I  agree 
with  Prof.  Voelcker,  that  the  straw  used  for  chaff  should 
be  wheat  and  oat,  for  these  may  be  cut  without  loss  in  a 
far  greener  state  than  is  generally  done." 

Dr.  Augustus  Voelcker  made  an  analysis  of  this  fer- 
mented straw  chaff,  and  compares  the  same  with  "a 


*  Transactions  of  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland,  July/ 
1843,-March,  1845,  pp.  57-61. 

t  Jour.  Roy.  Agr'l  Society,  1870,  p.  119. 


26  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AXD   SILAGE. 

sample  of  well-harvested  wheat  straw  which  was  neither 
under  nor  over  ripe,"*  with  the  following  results  : 


{      FERMENTED       WHEAT  STRAW- 
!  STRAW     CHAFF. 


1.60 

1.74 

fA-lbum  inous  compounds           

4.19 

2  93 

Sugar,  gum,  and  other  organic  com- 
pounds   soluble  in  water.  

10.16 

426 

Digestible  fibre,  

35.74 

19.40 

Woody  fibre  (cellulose),  

34.54 

54.13 

Mineral  matter  (ash),  

6.01 

4.21 

100.00 

100.00 

tContaiiiing  nitrogen,  .67  .47 

In  his  remarks  on  these  analyses  Dr.  Voelcker  says, 
"The  addition  of  the  green  stuff  causes  the  straw-chaff 
mixture  to  heat ;  the  volatile  and  odoriferous  principles 
produced  by  the  fermentation  are  retained  by  the  straw- 
chaff,  itself  undergoing  a  kind  of  slow  cooking  process, 
and  they  impregnate  the  whole  mass  with  an  extremely 
pleasant  flavour,  scarcely  inferior  to  that  which  charac- 
terizes well  made  hay. "  *  *  *  The  fermentation 

to  which  the  straw  is  submitted  in  Mr.  Jonas'  plan  thus 
has  the  effect  of  rendering  the  hard  and  dry  substance 
which  constitutes  the  bulk  of  the  straw  more  soluble 
and  digestible  than  it  is  in  its  natural  condition.  But 
useful  as  is  the  effect  of  the  slow  and  moist  heat, 
developed  in  the  mixture  of  straw-chaff  with  green  rye 
or  cut  tares,  no  doubt  is  in  rendering  the  fibre  of  the 
chaff  more  digestible,  this  is  not  the  only  recommenda- 
tion of  Mr.  Jonas'  admirable  plan  of  preparing  a  really 
very  nutritive  and  important  food  for  stock. 

"Another  recommendation  is  the  extremely  delicate 
flavour  and  the  palatable  condition  which  is  conferred 
upon  the  straw  in  the  process  of  fermentation. 

"The  prepared  straw-chaff,  kindly  sent  by  Mr.  Jonas, 
had  all  the  agreeable  smell  which  characterizes  good  green 
meadow-hay,  and  a  hot  infusion  with  hot  water  produced 

*  Jour.  Roy.  Agr'l  Society,  1871,  p.  85. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  27 

a  liquid  which  could  hardly  be  distinguished  from  hay- 
tea.  *  *  *  By  Mr.  Jonas'  plan  straw-chaff  is  not 
merely  made  more  palatable,  but,  as  it  is  mixed  with  a 
little  green  food,  it  undergoes  a  slow  cooking  process, 
and  becomes  more  digestible,  and  permeated  by  a  delicate 
hay-flavour. 

"  Thus  the  most  is  made  both  of  the  green  stuff  and  of 
the  straw,  and  an  excellent  food  is  produced  at  a  trifling 
expense,  greatly  superior  in  feeding  properties  to  treacled 
ordinary  straw-chaff,  which  costs  more  money.  The 
great  simplicity  of  preparing  and  storing  straw-chaff, 
and  the  inexpensiveness  of  Mr.  Jonas'  plan,  are  further 
advantages,  which  all  who  consume  much  straw  for  feed- 
ing purposes  may  secure  to  themselves. 

"The  more  one  looks  into  this  subject,  the  more  one 
becomes  impressed  with  the  great  practical  value  of  Mr. 
Jonas'  plan  of  preparing  a  most  useful  and  nutritious 
auxiliary  food;  and  it  is  much  to  be  desired  that  this 
extremely  simple,  inexpensive,  and  in  all  respects  excel- 
lent plan  of  dealing  with  straw  for  feeding  purposes  may 
be  spread  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
country. " 

In  this  review  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  use  of 
fermented  fodder,  attention  should  here  be  called  to  the 
system  of  feeding  pulped  roots  with  hay  or  straw-chaff, 
which  was  extensively  practiced  in  Great  Britain  from 
about  the  year  1855,  as  it  practically  provided,  for  winter 
feeding,  a  supply  of  succulent  food  which  had  many  of 
the  advantages  obtained  in  the  modern  system  of  ensi- 
lage, and  probably  suggested  to  Mr.  Jonas  the  method  of 
preserving  and  utilizing  straw-chaff  by  the  addition  of 
green  clover  and  rye,  which  furnished  the  conditions 
required  for  the  melioration  of  the  food  by  the  process  of 
fermentation. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Charles  Lawrence,  the  Eoyal 
Agricultural  Society  of  England  offered  a  prize  of  three 


28  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

sovereigns  "for  the  best  machine  to  reduce  roots  to  a 
pulp, "  which  brought  out  but  a  single  machine  for  the 
purpose  at  the  Lincoln  meeting  in  1854.  At  the  Chester 
meeting  in  18£8,  "In  the  class  of  machines  for  pulping 
or  grating  roots,  there  were  no  less  than  twenty-three 
exhibitors,  indicating  that  this  description  of  machine  is 
not  only  highly  approved,  but  is  steadily  increasing  in 
public  favor.  "  * 

In  1859  a  manufacturer  of  pulping  machines  published 
a  pamphlet  giving  the  experience  of  over  400  farmers  in 
feeding  pulped  roots,  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. 
In  most  of  these  reports  the  new  method  of  feeding  is 
praised  in  enthusiastic  terms,  and  they  resemble  in  their 
claims  the  modern  testimonials  in  regard  to  ensilage, 
particularly  as  to  the  larger  number  of  cattle  that  can  be 
kept  under  this  system  of  feeding. 

As  the  root  crop  held  an  important  place  in  British 
farm  practice,  the  pulping  process  was  at  first  adopted 
with  the  sole  purpose  of  securing  a  better  economy  in  the 
feeding  of  roots,  but  it  was  soon  observed  that  this  was 
one  of  the  least  advantages  of  the  system,  as  the  chaffed 
hay  and  straw,  or  other  coarse  fodder,  were  improved  in 
feeding  value,  by  the  fermentation  that  took  place  when 
mixed  with  pulped  roots.  In  a  supplement  to  an  article 
"  On  Pulping  roots  for  Cattle  food,  "  f  the  editor  of  the 
Journal  says,  "Statements  of  experience  have  been 
received  from  many  who  have  adopted  the  practice  of 
pulping  roots,  and  they  almost  universally  assert  its 
economy  and  advantage. " 

From  the  number  of  published  testimonials  we  copy 
one,  as  representing  a  moderate  view  of  the  economy 
claimed  for  the  system,  by  the  well-known  writer,  and 
breeder  of  Hereford  cattle,  Mr.  T.  Duckbam,  Baysham 
Court,  Herefordshire,  who  says:  "The  advantages  of 

*    Jour.  Hoy.  Agr'l  Soc.  1858,  p.  339. 
t   Jour.  Roy.  Agr'l  Soc.,  1859,  p.  458. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  29 

pulping  roots  for  cattle  are — 1  st,  economy  of  food ;  for 
the  roots  being  pulped  and  mixed  with  the  chaff  either 
from  threshing  or  cut  hay  or  straw,  the  whole  is  con- 
sumed without  waste,  the  animals  not  being  able  to 
separate  the  chaff  from  the  pulped  roots,  as  is  the  case 
when  the  roots  are  merely  sliced  by  the  common  cutter  ; 
neither  do  they  waste  the  fodder  as  when  given  without 
being  cut. 

"2nd.  The  use  of  ordinary  hay  or  straw,  after  being 
mixed  with  the  pulp  for  about  twelve  hours,  fermenta- 
tion commences ;  and  this  soon  renders  the  most  mouldy 
hay  palatable,  and  animals  eat  with  avidity  that  which 
they  would  otherwise  reject. 

"This  fermentation  softens  the  straw,  makes  it  more 
palatable,  and  puts  it  in  a  state  to  assimilate  more 
readily  with  the  other  food ;  in  this  respect  I  think  the 
pulper  of  great  value,  particularly  upon  corn  farms  where 
large  crops  of  straw  are  grown,  and  where  there  is  a 
limited  acreage  of  pasture,  as  by  its  use  the  pastures 
may  be  grazed,  the  expensive  process  of  hay  making 
reduced,  and  consequently  an  increased  number  of  cattle 
kept.  I  keep  one-third  more,  giving  the  young  stock  a 
small  quantity  of  oil-cake,  which  I  mix  with  the  chaff, 
etc. 

"3d.  Choking  is  utterly  impossible,  and  I  have  only 
had  one  case  of  hove  in  three  years,  and  that  occurred 
when  the  mixture  had  not  been  fermented. 

"4th.  There  is  an  advantage  in  mixing  the  meal  with 
the  chaff  and  pulped  roots  for  fatting  animals,  as  thereby 
they  cannot  separate  it,  and  the  moisture  from  the 
fermentation  softens  the  meal  and  insures  its  thorough 
digestion ;  whereas,  when  given  in  a  dry  state  without 
any  mixture,  frequently  a  great  portion  passes  away  in 
the  manure.  "* 

The  usual  practice  was  to  put  a  layer  of  chaffed  hay  or 

*    Jour.  Roy.  Agr'l  Soc.,  1859,  p.  463. 


30  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

straw,  or  other  coarse  fodder,  about  eight  to  ten  inches 
thick,  on  the  floor  of  a  room  of  convenient  size  (10  by  12 
to  16  ft.),  and  cover  this  with  a  layer  of  pulped  roots, 
then  another  layer  of  chaff,  followed  again  by  the  pulped 
roots,  and  so  on,  with  alternate  layers  until  the  mass 
was  four  or  five  feet  deep.  Each  layer  of  chaff  was  care- 
fully packed,  so  that  the  corners  were  well  filled,  and  the 
thickness  of  the  layer  of  roots  was  regulated  by  the  sup- 
ply at  command  for  the  season. 

The  whole  was  allowed  to  remain  from  twenty-four  to 
forty-eight  hours  before  feeding,  when  the  mass  was 
found  to  be  thoroughly  heated,  and  the  chaff  softened 
from  the  moisture,  and  mild  cooking  process.  * 

In  tracing  the  history  of  ensilage,  it  appears  that  in 
Germany,  previous  to  1842,  the  preservation  of  green 
fodder  in  underground  silos  had  been  developed  into  a 
system,  which,  in  its  methods  and  results,  compares 
favorably  with  the  average  practice  of  the  present  time. 

The  silos  were  lined  with  wood,  or  other  materials, 
and  the  thorough  packing  of  the  fodder,  the  close-fitting 
cover  of  boards,  and  the  final  weighting  of  the  mass  with 
eighteen  inches  of  earth,  were  looked  upon  as  the  best 
conditions  for  securing  the  desired  result. 

It  cannot  with  reason  be  assumed  that  this  well 
developed  system  sprung  into  existence  at  once,  with  its 
many  well-planned,  practical  details,  and  we  cannot 
avoid  the  conclusion  that  it  was  preceded  by  ruder 
methods  and  successive  steps  of  improvement,  extending 
over  a  number  of  years. 

In  England  we  also  find  that  fermented  fodder  had 

*  In  July,  1868, 1  imported  a  root  pulper  from  England  for  the  Michigan  Agri- 
cultural College,  and  the  system  of  feeding  pulped  turnips  (Swedes),  with  chaffed 
straw,  cornstalks,  and  hay,  w  is  practiced  with  the  most  satisfactory  results. 
As  our  crop  of  turnips  averaged  twenty-five  acres  each  year,  our  experience  was 
on  a  sufficient  scale  to  fully  demonstrate  the  great  economy  of  the  system  when 
roots  are  grown  to  any  extent  for  feeding  cattle.  The  pulping  system  has  been 
quite  extensively  practiced  by  a  number  of  Canadian  farmers  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, and  they  were  all  well  pleased  wi  Jti  it. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  31 

been  used  on  an  extensive  scale,  in  the  form  of  a  mixture 
of  green  food  and  chaffed  hay  or  straw  as  early  as  1855, 
and  that  for  several  years  previous  to  1869  it  had  been 
successfully  preserved  for  winter  feeding  under  essentially 
the  same  conditions  that  are  now  prescribed  in  the  prac- 
tice of  ensilage. 

We  have,  then,  conclusive  evidence  that  green  fodder 
had  been  successfully  used  for  winter  feeding,  and  the 
practical  principles  involved  in  the  process  of  preserving 
it  in  silos  had  been  demonstrated  long  before  the  system 
was  introduced  into  France  (1870),  where  it  received  a 
new  nomenclature,  and  was  brought  to  the  attention  of 
farmers  of  other  countries. 

In  France  the  ensilage  of  fodder  passed  rapidly  through 
a  series  of  experimental  stages,  which,  although  fully 
recorded  in  the  French  agricultural  papers  of  the  day, 
have  been  almost  entirely  ignored  by  American  writers 
who  attempted  to  give  an  account  of  the  origin  and 
history  of  the  process. 

"In  1867,  Count  Roederer,  a  well-known  agriculturist 
and  breeder  of  thorough-bred  horses,  living  at  Bois- 
Roussel,  in  the  Department  of  the  Orne,  began  to  pre- 
serve green  maize  in  silos  for  winter  use  by  chopping  it 
and  mixing  it  with  cut  straw  and  oat  cavings,  "*  which 
in  effect  was  the  method  practiced  by  Mr.  Jonas,  in  Eng- 
land, at  the  same  time,  to  which  we  have  called  attention, 
the  green  maize  in  France  taking  the  place  of  green  rye 
and  tares  in  England,  as  a  complementary  adjunct  of  the 
straw-chaff. 

The  credit  of  priority  in  the  ensilage  of  maize,  which 
gave  rise  to  the  present  system  of  practice,  must  undoubt- 
edly be  awarded  to  Herr  Adolph  Reihlen,  a  sugar  manu- 
facturer and  refiner,  of  Stuttgardt,  who  demonstrated  the 
economy  of  the  process  by  the  ensilage  of  beet  leaves,  beet 

*  This  practice  was  described  in  a  letter  of  June  18th,  1870,  published  in  the 
"  Journal  d'agriculture  progressive  "  the  following  week.  See  Jour.  Roy.  Agr'l 
Soc.,  1884,  p.  136. 


32  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

root  pulp,  and  maize,  on  an  extensive  scale.  The  beet 
leaves  from  a  crop  of  400  acres  were  preserved  in  a  dozen 
silos,  and  the  beet  root  pulp  from  his  large  sugar  factory 
had  been  stored  for  winter  feeding,  in  the  same  way. 
He  had  lived  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  United  States, 
and  on  his  return  to  Germany  began  the  cultivation  of 
the  large  dent  corn  (mais  dent  de  cheval).  As  this 
" giant  maize"  did  not  always  ripen  in  the  climate  of 
Stuttgardt,  he  became  interested  in  utilizing  it  as  a  for- 
age crop  when  the  season  was  too  short  for  the  grain  to 
mature. 

The  first  account  of  his  experience  was  in  a  letter  pub- 
lished in  a  German  paper  in  1862,  and  he  gave  further 
details  in  another  letter  to  the  same  paper,  dated  Sep- 
tember 23d,  1865.  These  letters  were  translated  and 
published  in  the  Journal  d'agriculture  Pratique  in  1870, 
forming  part  of  a  series  of  articles  on  the  ensilage  of 
green  fodder,  by  M.  Vilmorin-Andrieux,  who  called  the 
attention  of  the  farmers  of  France  to  the  advantages  of 
this  method  of  preserving  fodder,  in  connection  with  the 
growing  of  forage  crops,  as  a  remedy  for  the  effects  of 
the  prevailing  severe  drought  of  that  year.  * 

From  these  papers  it  appears  that  M.  Eeihlen  was 
familiar  with  the  sour  hay  process  of  Germany,  and  that 
his  success  in  the  ensilage  of  beet  leaves,  and  beet  root 
pulp,  for  a  number  of  years,  led  him  to  try  the  same 
method  with  maize,  in  various  stages  of  ripeness,  with 
stalks  and  ears  together,  and  separately,  and  also  mixed 
with  beet  root  pulp. 

The  results  obtained  in  these  different  methods  were 
satisfactory,  but  he  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  ensilage 
of  maize,  by  itself,  that  he  increased  the  area  of  corn 

*  It  is  a  matter  of  interest,  in  the  history  of  ensilage,  that  the  severe  drought  of 
1870  had  much  to  do  with  the  rapid  progress  of  the  system  in  France  from  that 
time  to  the  present,  while  in  England  the  introduction  and  diffusion  of  the  prac- 
tice was  owing  to  "a  succession  of  wet  seasons,  which  had  rendered  hay  making 
almost  impossible  in  some  localities."  Jenkins,  in  Jour.  Eoy.  Agr'l  Soc.,  1884, 
p.  136. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND  SILAGE.  33 

grown,  and  in  1870,  we  are  informed  by  M.  Vilmorin- 
Andrieux,  his  silos  of  maize  forage  (10  feet  deep,  and  15 
feet  wide  at  the  top,  and  slightly  narrower  at  the  bot- 
tom), which  he  filled  every  year,  had  an  aggregate  length 
of  over  3200  feet,  and  they  all  turned  out  remarkably 
well. 

Having  in  view  the  value  of  the  grain,  M.  Reihlen's 
practice  was  to  allow  the  corn  to  stand  until  the  ears 
matured,  when  they  were  harvested  and  stored,  and  the 
stalks  were  cut  up  and  placed  in  the  silo.  If,  however, 
the  season  was  unfavorable,  the  corn  was  cut  up  before 
it  matured,  and  the  green  ears  went  with  the  stalks  into 
the  silo.  In  defense  of  this  practice,  M.  Keihlen 
remarks,  that,  after  fermentation  in  the  silo,  he  found  that 
the  stalks  that  were  allowed  to  mature  their  ears  were 
excellent  feed,  that  were  relished  by  cattle,  and  he  con- 
siders them  but  little  inferior  to  the  green  stalks,  with 
their  attached  ears,  treated  in  the  same  manner.  ^ 

In  a  communication  to  the  Country  Gentleman  in 
1876,  *  I  gave  the  following  account  of  his  first  experi- 
ment in  the  ensilage  of  maize:  "  Some  twenty  years  ago 
M.  Adolf  Reihlen,  the  owner  of  a  sugar  factory  near 
Stuttgardt,  Germany,  had  a  quantity  of  Indian  corn 
injured  by  an  early  frost,  so  that  he  was  unable  to  use 
it,  as  intended,  for  soiling  purposes.  Wishing  to  pre- 
serve it,  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  green  state,  he  dug 
trenches,  in  which  the  stalks  were  placed  and  covered 
with  a  layer  of  soil,  in  the  same  manner  that  potatoes 
and  other  root  crops  are  buried  for  winter  in  this  coun- 
try. On  opening  the  trenches,  after  several  months,  the 
corn  stalks  were  found  to  be  well  preserved,  having 
passed  through  the  first  stage  of  fermentation  without 
any  marked  change  in  color,  and  with  a  peculiar,  though 
not  disagreeable  odor. 

"As  this  preserved  fodder  was  readily  eaten  by  his  cat- 

*Co.  Gent.,  1876,  p.  627. 

3 


34  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

tie,  M.  Eeihlen  was  so  well  pleased  with  his  experiment 
that  he  has  continued  the  same  system  to  the  present 
time."  In  the  same  article,  as  examples  of  the  best 
practice  in  France,  and  illustrating  the  change  from 
earth  pits  to  silos  of  masonry,  I  likewise  gave  the  expe- 
rience of  two  farmers,  as  follows  :  "  M.  Ore  vat  says, 
encouraged  by  the  success  of  M.  Moreul,*  I  prepared,  in 
1872,  three  pits  in  a  good  soil,  with  a  gravel  subsoil,  of 
the  following  dimensions,  in  round  numbers  :  Length 
at  top,  26  feet ;  at  bottom,  22  feet ;  width  at  top,  10 
feet ;  at  bottom,  6  1-2  feet ;  depth,  6  1-2  feet.  Sep- 
tember 12th,  13th  and  14th  filled  the  pits  successively 
with  corn  fodder  (geant  mais),  6  1-2  to  10  feet  high. 
The  corn  was  harvested  and  left  in  bundles  two  or  three 
days  in  a  hot  sun. 

"The  stalks  were  packed  in  the  pits  lengthwise,  with 
care,  in  layers  6  to  8  inches  in  thickness,  with  salt  at 
the  rate  of  73  pounds  to  each  pit.  On  account  of  the 
scarcity  of  workmen  two  days  were  required  to  fill  each 
pit.  In  the  afternoon  filled  to  the  level  of  the  soil,  and 
next  morning  heaped  above  to  the  height  of  6  or  7 
feet,  covering  with  soil  in  the  afternoon  following,  to 
the  depth  of  about  2  feet. 

"  The  first  week  the  settling  of  the  heaps  was  great 
(at  least  6  feet),  when  they  were  again  covered  with 
earth  to  protect  them  from  the  rain,  and  then  left  with- 
out other  protection.  April  15,  1873,  a  pit  was  opened. 
The  corn  was  perfectly  preserved,  of  a  yellowish  color, 
and  of  a  peculiar  but  not  disagreeable  odor. 

"A  thickness  of  1  to  2  inches  of  the  outside  was  black 
and  rotted.  In  3  or  4  days  24  head  of  cattle  became 
accustomed  to  the  feed,  and  ate  it  readily ;  so  that  at 
the  end  of  8  days  they  had  consumed  at  the  rate  of  880 
pounds  per  day. 

*  We  should  not  fall  to  notice  M.  Moreul,  of  Gri^nonniere,  as  the  pioneer  of  the 
new  system  in  France,  as  he  made  his  first  silo  in  1870,  and  continued  the  prac 
tice  with  success,  as  shown  in  reports  to  the  Journal  d'Agriculture  Pratique. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE.  35 

"  The  second  silo  (pit)  was  fed  after  the  first,  lasting 
until  July  31st,  when  green  corn  was  substituted.  The 
third  silo  (pit)  was  not  opened  until  April  20,  1874, 
when  the  interior  was  perfectly  good,  but  a  greater 
thickness  of  the  outside  was  spoiled." 

"After  this  experience  M.  Ore  vat  made  pits  of  ma- 
sonry of  the  following  dimensions  :  Length,  26  feet  at 
top,  24  feet  at  bottom ;  width,  8  1-2  feet  at  top,  6  1-2 
feet  at  bottom  ;  depth,  7  1-2  feet, — thus  diminishing 
the  width  and  increasing  the  depth,  to  save  labor  in  the 
covering  and  uncovering  of  earth,  and  securing  more 
completely  the  exclusion  of  the  atmosphere. 

"  M.  Ore  vat  thinks  it  is  not  necessary  to  fill  the  pits  in 
a  single  day,  and  prefers  to  dry  the  fodder  from  two  to 
three  days  before  putting  in  the  pit.  He  does  not 
believe  that  it  pays  to  cut  the  stalks,  and  thinks  the 
mixing  with  straw,  as  practiced  by  many  persons,  is 
unnecessary.  He  feeds  green  stalks  from  the  field  from 
July  20  to  Oct.  20,  and  the  stalks  secured  in  the  stooks 
from  Oct.  20,  to  Jan.  20,  following  with  the  fermented 
fodder  to  July  20,  when  green  stalks  are  again  used." 

"  M.  Houette  has  raised  Indian  corn  for  fodder  for  10 
years,  and  has  practiced  the  system  of  ensilage  for  4 
years.  On  account  of  a  wet  soil,  the  earth  silos  were 
abandoned  and  silos  of  masonry  were  made,  consisting 
of  three  parallel  walls  with  ends,  forming  2  silos  16  feet 
wide,  9  feet  high,  and  138  feet  long ;  prefers  to  cut  the 
stalks  before  putting  in  the  silo ;  uses  salt  at  the  rate 
of  4  kilogrammes  of  rock  salt  to  1,000  kilos,  of  cut 
stalks,  which  is  equal  to  about  8  3-4  Ibs.  of  salt  to  2,200 
Ibs.  of  stalks.  He  estimates  the  cost  of  harvesting, 
handling,  cutting  and  placing  in  silo,  and  covering  with 
earth,  at  2  francs  per  1,000  kilogrammes  (2,200  Ibs.), 
besides  coal  burned  in  engine.  He  says  the  maize  thus 
preserved  is  fed  until  the  end  of  May,  without  any  alter- 
ation from  fermentation  beyond  that  taking  place  dur- 


36  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

ing  the  two  or  three  days  after  .being  put  in  pit,  and  he 
has  kept  it  even  to  the  end  of  July  without  any  change. 
The  maize  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible  to  maturity 
before  it  is  cut  for  ensilage.  When  fermented,  the  ani- 
mals eat  it  as  readily  as  when  green." 

Many  similar  statements  of  success  in  the  ensilage  of 
maize  may  be  found  in  the  agricultural  papers  of  France 
previous  to  1876,  but  these  are  sufficient  to  show  that 
the  system  of  M.  Reihlen,  as  described  by  M.  Vilmorin- 
Andrieux  in  1870,  was  at  once  received  with  favor  by 
the  French  farmers,  and  practically  adopted  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale. 

In  1877,  M.  Auguste  Goffart,  a  gentleman  farmer  of 
France,  published  his  book  on  Ensilage,  which  was 
translated  and  published  in  New  York  in  the  winter  of 
1878-9.  As  this  translation  had  a  wide  circulation, 
some  2,000  copies  having  been  sold  and  given  away,  it 
has  generally  been  accepted  as  the  standard  authority  on 
the  subject,  and  it  has  been  repeatedly  claimed  that  M. 
Goffart  was  the  inventor  of  the  system  which  he  so 
enthusiastically  advocates.  There  is,  however,  nothing 
new  in  M.  Goffart's  methods,  as  the  ensilage  of  maize 
had  been  extensively  practiced  in  France  and  Germany 
for  several  years  before  the  publication  of  his  book,  and 
a  number  of  farmers  in  France  were  practically  familiar 
with  ensilage,  at  least  two  or  three  years  previous  to  his 
first  successful  experiment.*  The  honors  conferred  on 

*In  a  note  to  his  article  already  referred  to  Mr.  Jenkins  says:  "Most  English 
writers  on  ensilage  during  the  last  two  years,  have  followed  several  American 
authors  in  saying  that  M.  GofEart  made  his  first  experiment  on  ensilage  with 
Indian  corn,  in  1852.  This  is  a  mistake.  What  M.  Goffart  says  is,  that  in  1852 
he  began  to  study,  practically,  the  important  problem  of  the  preservation  of 
forage  ('  C'est  ct,  probleme  de  la  conservation  des  fourrages').  He  also  states  (p.  185, 
4th  edition),  that  until  1873  he  had  scarcely  believed  in  the  possibility  of  pre- 
serving green  maize,  but  in  that  year  he  was  very  successful,  chiefly  by  accident, 
vtnd  he  gives  (p.  186)  the  following  statement  of  what  he  heard  his  foreman  say 
to  the  workpeople:  '  M  Goffart  noun  fait  fairs  la  une  sotte  besoine;  il  ferait  bien 
mieiix  de  jettr,  tout  de  suite,  sou  mai's  sur  la  fumier,  il  fandra  tonjours  qu'  il  finisse 
par  la.'"  Jour.  Roy.  Agr'l  Soc  ,  1884=,  p.  135.  "  This  work  that  we  are  doing  is 
all  foolishness;  M.  Goffart  had  better  throw  his  maize  into  the  dung  heap  at  once, 
because  that  is  where  it  will  go  at  last."  Brown's  Translation  of  Goffart, p.  42. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  37 

M.  Goffart  by  agricultural  societies  in  France,  and  by 
the  government,  were  in  recognition  of  his  services  in 
popularizing  and  extending  the  practice  of  ensilage,  and 
not,  as  has  been  claimed,  for  the  discovery  that  green 
maize  could  be  practically  preserved  in  silos. 

From  the  prominence  given  by  M.  Goffart  to  his 
expensive  silos  of  masonry,  and  the  heavy  weighting  of 
the  silage,  these  were  claimed  by  his  followers  as  the 
distinctive  features  of  his  system,  and  they  came  to  be 
quite  generally  looked  upon  as  the  essential  conditions 
of  success  in  the  practice  of  ensilage.  As  silos  of  wood 
have  many  advantages  over  the  more  expensive  struc- 
tures of  masonry,  and  the  weighting  of  the  silage  has 
been  found  unnecessary,  the  question  may  fairly  be 
raised  whether  the  methods  of  M.  Goffart  have  led  to 
any  real  improvements  in  the  practice  of  ensilage,  aside 
from  the  wider  advertising  of  this  method  of  preserving 
green  fodder,  that  may  be  attributed  to  the  extended 
circulation  of  his  book. 

The  many  favorable  reports  in  regard  tcf  the  ensilage 
of  maize  by  the  farmers  of  France,  led  me,  in  1875,  to 
make  experiments  in  the  ensilage  of  corn  fodder,  in  two 
silos  12  feet  long,  and  6  feet  wide,  and  with  two  similar 
silos  of  broom-corn  seed,  with  the  most  satisfactory 
results.  * 

Mr.  Francis  Morris,  of  Maryland,  made  a  silo  in  1876, 
and  the  results  of  his  experience  were  published  in  1877. 
A  number  of  silos  were  built  in  the  United  States  within 
the  next  three  or  four  years,  nearly  all  of  which  were 
widely  advertised  in  the  agricultural  press.  After  this 
time  the  practice  was  rapidly  extended,  and  silos  are 
now  found  in  almost  every  state  arid  territory. 

In  July,  1882,  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at 
Washington  published  a  report  on  ensilage,  which  con- 
tained statements  of  the  experience  of  91  persons  dis- 

*  Co.  Gent.  Oct.  5, 1876,  pp.  627-8. 


38  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

tributed  as  follows  :  Maine  4,  New  Hampshire  2,  Ver- 
mont 11,  Massachusetts  28,  Khode  Island  1,  Connecticut 
5,  New  York  21,  New  Jersey  5,  Maryland  2,  Virginia  2, 
Kentucky  1,  Tennessee  1,  North  Carolina  1,  Wisconsin 
3,  Iowa  1,  Nebraska  1,  Canada  2, — but  even  at  that 
time  there  were  undoubtedly  many  silos  in  the  country 
that  were  not  included  in  this  enumeration.  The  capac- 
ity of  the  silos  reported  vary  from  about  8  to  500  tons 
each. 

Unfortunately,  some  of  the  first  champions  of  the 
new  system  of  ensilage  made  such  extravagant  claims, 
for  advertising  purposes,  in  regard  to  its  advantages, 
ignoring  the  established  principles  of  farm  economy, 
and  urging  the  ensilage  of  green  fodder  as  the  only  thing 
needed  to  establish  a  golden  age  of  agriculture,  that 
practical  farmers  were  not  disposed  to  adopt  it,  as  they 
could  not  readily  perceive  the  substratum  of  truth  under- 
lying the  many  assertions  that  were  obviously  fallacious. 
As  the  real  facts  came  to  be  better  known  the  ensilage 
of  fodder-corn  was  rapidly  extended,  and  there  are  now 
few  localities  in  which  the  silo  is  not  a  familiar  append- 
age of  the  farm  that  must  soon  find  it3  proper  place  in 
a  consistent  system  of  farm  management. 

As  an  adjunct  or  supplement  to  the  ordinary  methods 
of  practice,  the  ensilage  of  green  fodder  for  winter  feed- 
ing, or  to  augment  the  scanty  supply  of  feed  during  a 
prevailing  drought,  will  undoubtedly  be  fully  appre- 
ciated by  intelligent  farmers  who  wish  to  take  advantage 
of  every  available  resource  of  production,  but  it  cannot 
be  safely  recommended  as  the  only  element  required  to 
insure  success  in  the  complex  business  of  farming. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND    SILAGE.  39 

CHAPTER  IV. 

FERMENTATION. 

In  the  ensilage  of  green  fodder,  as  in  the  allied  sys- 
tems of  preparing  cattle  feed,  to  which  we  have  called 
attention,  various  kinds  of  fermentation  take  place,  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent,  which  have  an  influence  on  the 
quality  and  feeding  value  of  the  silage,  and  from  a  prac- 
tical stand-point  it  becomes  a  matter  of  the  first  import- 
ance that  the  causes  and  conditions  involved  in  these 
changes  in  the  constitution  of  the  preserved  fodder  are 
clearly  apprehended.  The  vague  and  incorrect  popular 
notions  that  prevail  in  regard  to  the  processes  of  fer- 
mentation and  putrefaction  lead  to  errors  in  practice, 
from  a  false  interpretation  of  the  results  obtained. 

In  the  first  attempts  to  preserve  green  fodder  in  pits, 
and  even  in  the  storing  of  grain,  it  was  naturally  assumed 
that  the  air  was  the  sole  cause  of  putrefaction  and  decay, 
and  that  the  exclusion  of  the  air  was  the  essential  condi- 
tion for  the  preservation  of  articles  of  food  that  were 
observed  to  decay  when  exposed  to  ordinary  atmospheric 
conditions. 

This  empirical  assumption  was  not  only  a  plausible 
explanation  of  the  observed  facts,  but  it  was  apparently 
confirmed  by  the  earlier  investigations  of  science  relating 
to  the  phenomena  of  fermentation.  Gay-Lussac  proved 
that  "perfectly  pure  grape  juice  does  not  ferment  unless 
the  process  has  been  started  by  at  least  temporary  con- 
tact with  ordinary  air."* 

It  was  found  that  the  solid  particles  of  yeast,  a  well- 
known  active  ferment,  could  be  separated  from  the 
liquid  in  which  they  were  diffused,  and  Liebig  claimed 

*  Encycl.  Brit.  9th  Ed.,  vol.  IX,  p.  94. 


40  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

that  fermentation  was  excited  by  "  the  soluble  part  of 
ferment/'  and  he  says,  however,  "but  before  it  obtains 
this  power,  the  decanted  infusion  must  be  allowed  to 
cool  in  contact  with  the  air,  and  to  remain  some  time 
exposed  to  its  action.  When  introduced  into  a  solution 
of  sugar,  in  this  state,  it  produces  a  brisk  fermentation  ; 
but  without  previous  exposure  to  the  air  it  manifests  no 
such  property.  The  infusion  absorbs  oxygen  during  its 
exposure  to  the  air,  and  carbonic  acid  may  be  found  in 
it  after  a  short  time.  Yeast  produces  fermentation  in 
consequence  of  the  progressive  decomposition  which  it 
suffers  from  the  action  of  air  and  water."* 

As  in  the  experiments  of  Gay-Lussac,  the  facts  are 
correctly  stated,  but  in  explaining  them  the  mistake  is 
made  of  attributing  to  the  air,  and  its  oxygen,  the  effects 
produced  by  the  germs  of  ferments  floating  in  the  air, 
which  were  so  minute  as  to  escape  attention.  But  some- 
thing further  was  needed  to  round  out  his  hypothesis, 
and  in  1848  Liebig  published  a  theory  of  fermentation, 
which  was  substantially  a  revival  of  that  of  Willis  (1659), 
and  Stahl  (1697),  and  a  modification  of  his  earlier  views. 

It  was  simply  that  "yeast,  and  in  general,  all  animal 
and  vegetable  matters  in  a  state  of  putrefaction,  will 
communicate  to  other  bodies  the  conditions  of  decompo- 
sition in  which  they  are  themselves  placed ;  the  motion 
which  is  given  to  their  own  elements  by  the  disturbance 
of  equilibrium  is  also  communicated  to  the  elements  of 
the  bodies  which  come  in  contact  with  them."  f 

This  theory  was  generally  accepted  by  chemists  as  a 
satisfactory  explanation  of  the  phenomena  of  fermenta- 
tion, but  in  its  applications  it  seems  to  have  been  inter- 
preted in  accordance  with  the  earlier  views  of  Liebig, 
from  the  frequent  references  to  oxygen  as  an  active 

*  Chemistry  in  its  applications  to  Agriculture  and  Physiology,  184=2.  N.  Y.  Ed., 
p.  46. 

tAs  quoted  in  Schutzenberger  "On  Fermentation,"  p.  40.  See  also  article 
Fermentation,  Encycl.  Brit.,  9th  Ed.,  vol.  IX,  p.  94. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE    AHD   SILAGE.  41 

agent  in  the  changes  taking  place  in  all  processes  of  fer- 
mentation and  decay.  What  are  now  known  to  be  the 
essential  factors  of  fermentation  and  putrefaction  were 
entirely  ignored  by  Liebig ;  and  yet  his  theories  were 
unquestioned  for  many  years,  and  even  now  their  influ- 
ence is  apparent  in  the  popular  literature  of  agricultural 
science,  notwithstanding  the  repeated  disproof  of  the 
assumptions  on  which  the  theory  was  based,  by  the 
results  of  direct  experiments,  beginning  in  1838  and 
continued  to  the  present  time. 

More  than  twenty-five  years  ago,  Pasteur  verified  the 
results  obtained  by  previous  investigations,  and  supple- 
mented the  work  by  a  masterly  series  of  researches 
which  proved  conclusively  that  fermentation  was  a 
biological  process,  the  result  of  the  vital  activities  of 
living  organisms. 

If  real  progress  is  made  in  our  knowledge  of  the  com- 
plex changes  involved  in  the  ensilage  of  green  fodder, 
the  biological  theory  of  fermentation,  which  can  no 
longer  be  consistently  questioned,  must  be  accepted  as 
the  only  safe  guide  in  experimentation,  and  the  obsolete 
theories  of  Liebig,  that  were  based  on  assumed  data, 
must  be  entirely  discarded. 

A  brief  historical  summary  of  the  progress  of  discovery 
will  enable  us  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  present 
conditions  of  science  relating  to  the  subject,  and  lead  to 
a  recognition  of  the  real  significance  of  the  biological 
factors  of  fermentation. 

Iii  1680  the  Dutch  naturalist,  Leuwenhoek,  with 
lenses  made  by  himself,  examined  yeast  and  found  it 
was  composed  of  minute  granules,  the  real  nature  of 
which  he  was  unable  to  determine. 

Fabroni,  of  Florence,  in  1787  again  noticed  the  gran- 
ules of  yeast,  which  he  looked  upon  as  a  "vegeto-ani- 
mal"  substance,  and  a  further  step  in  advance  was  made 
by  Astier  in  1813,  who  claimed  that  the  yeast  granules 


42  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

were  living  organisms  that  derived  their  nourishment 
from  sugar  and  thus  produced  the  phenomena  of  fer- 
mentation. This  was  in  effect  the  first  announcement 
of  the  true  theory  of  fermentation,  but  from  the  prom- 
inence given  to  the  popular  chemical  hypothesis,  it  was 
soon  overlooked  and  forgotten. 

In  1838  Cagniard  de  la  Tour  (who  was  afterwards 
elected  to  succeed  Gay-Lussac  in  the  Paris  Academy  of 
sciences)  re-discovered  the  yeast  granules  of  Leuwen- 
hoek,  and  found  them  to  be  minute  plants  that  were 
multiplied  by  a  process  of  budding,  and  these  he  claimed, 
in  the  processes  of  their  nutrition,  were  the  cause  of  fer- 
mentation, as  had  been  asserted  by  Astier  twenty-five 
years  before.  "  The  chemists,  with  Berzelius  and  Liebig 
at  their  head,  at  first  lauged  this  idea  to  scorn,"*  but 
Schultze  and  Schwann,  about  the  same  time  (1836-8), 
by  the  simple  device  of  passing  air  through  red-hot 
tubes,  or  through  sulphuric  acid,  to  destroy  any  organic 
germs  associated  with  it,  without  altering  its  proportion 
of  oxygen,  proved  that  it  did  not  excite  fermentation 
when  introduced  into  infusions  of  fermentable  materials 
that  had  previously  been  boiled,  which  was  of  course 
fatal  to  that  part  of  the  chemical  theory  of  fermentation 
which  made  oxygen  an  active  agent  in  the  process. 

Helmholtz,  in  1843,  was  equally  successful  in  demon- 
strating the  fact  that  the  liquids  or  the  gases  of  ferment- 
ing materials  had  no  power  to  excite  fermentation.  He 
separated  putrescent  and  fermenting  liquids  from  putres- 
cible  and  fermentable  materials  b}  a  simple  membrane 
which  allowed  the  fluids  and  gases  to  pass  through  it  by 
osmosis,  but  did  not  permit  the  transfer  of  the  solid  par- 
ticles from  one  side  to  the  other.  As  the  process  of  fer- 
mentation or  putrefaction,  under  these  conditions,  was 
confined  to  one  side  of  the  membrane,  it  is  evident  that 
the  cause  of  fermentation  was  something  that  could  not 

*  Huxley,  British  Association  Address,  1870,  Nature,  11,  402. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  43 

pass  through  the  membrane,  and  that  the  liquids  and 
gases  were  entirely  inert. 

Another  assumption  of  Liebig's  theory  was  thus  dis- 
proved by  direct  experimental  evidence,  and  in  the  con- 
troversy which  was  carried  on  for  many  years,  we  find 
repeatedly  enacted  what  Prof.  Huxley  terms  "the 
great  tragedy  of  science — the  slaying  of  a  beautiful 
hypothesis  by  an  ugly  fact." 

These  experiments,  which  in  themselves  appear  to  be 
a  conclusive  refutation  of  the  chemical  theory,  were 
fully  corroborated  by  the  investigations  of  Schroeder 
and  Dusch  in  1854,  which  were  conducted  on  an  entirely 
different  plan.  They  found  that  liquids  which  were 
particularly  liable  to  take  on  putrefactive  or  fermenta- 
tive changes,  were  preserved  indefinitely  (after  boiling, 
to  destroy  all  contained  germs),  when  freely  exposed  to 
air  that  had  been  filtered  through  cotton  wool.  As  no 
change  in  the  composition  of  the  air  could  be  produced 
by  this  process  of  filtration,  aside  from  the  removal  of 
the  solid  particles  floating  in  it,  these  last  must  contain 
the  efficient  causes  of  fermentation  and  putrefaction. 

The  chemists,  however,  continued  to  ignore  this  accu- 
mulation of  evidence,  which  was  in  direct  conflict  with 
Liebig's  theory,  and  it  remained  for  Tyndall  and  Pasteur 
to  clear  up  all  possible  doubts,  and  establish  the  biolog- 
ical theory  of  fermentation  by  a  series  of  experiments 
that  are  unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  science,  for  the 
accuracy  and  skill  with  which  they  were  planned  and 
conducted  to  answer  all  objections  that  had  been  raised, 
and  avoid  all  possible  elements  of  error. 

Instead  of  filtering  air  through  cotton,  as  in  the  exper- 
iments of  Schroeder  and  Dusch,  another  method  of  puri- 
fying it  was  adopted  by  Tyndall  with  quite  as  satisfac- 
tory results.  "A  chamber,  or  case,  was  constructed 
with  a  glass  front,  its  top,  bottom,  back  and  sides  being 
of  wood.  At  the  back  is  a  little  door  which  opens  and 


44 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 


closes  on  hinges,  while  into  the  sides  are  inserted  two 
panes  of  glass  facing  each  other.  The  top  is  perforated 
in  the  middle  by  a  hole  2  inches  in  diameter,  closed  air 
tight  by  a  sheet  of  India  rubber.  This  sheet  is  pierced 
in  the  middle  by  a  pin,  and  through  the  pin-hole  is 
passed  the  shank  of  a  long  pipette,  ending  above  in  a 
small  funnel.  A  circular  tin  collar,  2  inches  in  diam- 
eter and  1  1-2  inches  deep,  surrounds  the  pipette,  the 
space  between  both  being  packed  with  cotton  wool 
moistened  with  glycerine.  Thus  the  pipette,  in  moving 
tip  and  down,  is  not  only  firmly  clasped  by  the  India- 

rubber,  but  it  also  passes 
through  a  stuffing-box  of 
sticky  cotton-wool.  The 
width  of  the  aperture 
closed  by  the  India-rubber 
secures  the  free  lateral  play 
of  the  lower  end  of  the 
k  pipette.  Into  two  other 
smaller  apertures  in  the 
top  of  the  chamber  are  in- 
serted, air-tight,  the  open 
ends  of  two  narrow  tubes, 
intended  to  connect  the 
interior  space  with  the  at- 
mospheric. The  tubes  are 
bent  several  times  up  and 
down,  so  as  to  intercept 
and  retain  the  particles  car- 

by    Such    feeble    CUr- 

sterilized  putresciWe  solutions  to  the  air  j.         Q     phancrPQ    of    fpTYl- 

without  producing  putrefaction." 

perature  might  cause  to  set  in  between  the  outer  and  the 
inner  air. 

"  The  bottom  of  the  box  is  pierced  with  two  rows  of 
holes,  six  in  a  row,  in  which  are  fixed,  air-tight,  twelve 

*  "  Floating  Matter  of  tlie  Air,"  p.  132.    D.  Appleton  and  Co. 


FIG  3> 

"Tyndall's  closed  chamber  for  exposing   ried 


SILOS,    EKSILAGE  AND   SILAGE.  45 

test  tubes,  intended  to  contain  the  liquid  to  be  exposed 
to  the  action  of  the  moteless  air. 

"  The  arrangement  is  represented  in  Fig.  3,  where  w  w 
are  the  side  windows  (through  which  a  searching  beam 
passes  from  a  lamp  I  across  the  case) ;  p  is  the  pipette, 
and  a,  I,  are  the  bent  tubes  connecting  the  inner  and 
outer  air.  The  test  tubes  passing  through  the  bottom 
of  the  case  are  seen  below. 

"  On  the  10th  of  September,  1875,  this  case  was 
closed.  The  passage  of  a  concentrated  beam  across  it 
through  its  two  side  windows  then  showed  the  air  within 
it  to  be  laden  with  floating  matter. 

"  On  the  13th  it  was  again  examined.  Before  the 
beam  entered,  and  after  it  quitted  the  case,  its  track  was 
vivid  in  the  air,  but  within  the  case  it  vanished.  Three 
days  of  quiet  had  sufficed  to  cause  all  the  floating  mat- 
ter to  be  deposited  on  the  interior  surfaces,  where  it  was 
retained  by  a  coating  of  glycerine,  with  which  these  sur- 
faces had  been  purposely  varnished."* 

After  the  air  was  thus  purified  by  the  subsidence  of 
the  floating  particles  with  which  it  was  contaminated, 
the  test  tubes  were  partly  filled  through  the  pipette, 
with  a  variety  of  solutions  that  were  readily  acted  upon 
by  the  micro-organisms  of  putrefaction,  as  dilute  infu- 
sions of  beef  and  mutton  broth,  urine,  and  of  different 
vegetables,  as  turnips,  cucumbers,  etc.,  and  these  were 
sterilized  by  dipping  the  test  tubes  that  project  below 
the  bottom  of  the  case,  in  a  bath  of  boiling  brine  for 
five  minutes.  It  will  be  seen  that  these  putrescible 
materials  in  the  test  tubes  were  in  immediate  contact 
with  the  purified  air  of  the  chamber,  which  freely  com- 
municated with  the  external  atmosphere  through  the 
bent  tubes  at  the  top  of  the  case. 

Under  these  conditions  the  contents  of  the  test  tubes 
were  kept  for  months  without  undergoing  any  change. 

*  "  Floating  Matter  of  the  Air,"  pp.  49-51. 


46 


SILOS,    EKSILAGE   A^D    SILAGE. 


"In  up  wards  of  fifty  chambers  thus  constructed,  many 
of  them  used  more  than  once,  it  was,  without  exception, 
proved  that  a  sterilized  infusion  in  contact  with  air 
shown  to  be  self-cleansed  by  the  luminous  beam,  re- 
mained sterile.  Never,  in  a  single  unexplained  instance, 
did  such  an  infusion  show  any  signs  of  life.  That  the 
observed  sterility  was  not  due  to  any  lack  of  nutritive 
power  in  the  infusion  was  proved  by  opening  the  back 
door  and  permitting  the  unclean sed  air  to  enter  the 
chamber.  The  contact  of  the  floating  matter  with  the 
infusions  was  invariably  followed 
by  the  development  of  life."* 

The  organisms  which  cause  pu- 
trefaction were  as  readily  removed 
from  the  air  by  the  simple  process 
of  subsidence,  as  by  nitration 
through  cotton,  or  by  passing 
through  a  red-hot  tube,  or  through 
sulphuric  acid.  Pasteur  practiced 
a  still  different  method,  that  en- 
abled him  to  separate  the  differ- 
ent organisms  concerned  in  fer- 
mentation and  putrefaction,  and 
cultivate  them  as  "pure  breeds" 
for  many  generations,  and  thus  FIG 

determine  the   Specific    physiologi-    tone  of  Pasteur's  culture  flasks, 

cal  action  of  each  species.  ^^1^°^^ 

By  means  of  small  glass  flasks  of  different  forms,  to 
isolate  the  different  ferments,  he  proved  that  each  spe- 
cies produced  a  particular  form  of  fermentation,  as  the 
alcoholic,  the  lactic,  the  butyric,  the  acetic  and  the 
putrefactive,  and  this,  he  claimed,  was  the  result  of 
their  vital  activities  in  the  processes  of  nutrition. 

Like  all  living  beings,  the  micro-organisms  of  fer- 

*  Tyndall,  1.  c.  p.  133. 

t "  Studies  on  Fermentation,"  p.  241.    Macmillan  &  Co.,  N.  Y. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  47 

mentation  require  certain  conditions  of  temperature, 
moisture  and  food  supply,  for  the  normal  exercise  of 
their  vital  activities  ;  and  each  species  needs  some  spe- 
cial adjustment  of  these  conditions  to  furnish  it  the  best 
facilities  for  carrying  on  its  processes  of  nutrition  and 
reproduction,  and  give  it  the  advantage,  in  the  struggle 
for  existence  with  other  species. 

The  living  organisms  of  fermentation  must  not,  how- 
ever, be  looked  upon  as  engaged  in  the  direct  manufac- 
ture of  some  special  product  that  characterizes  the  kind 
of  fermentation  with  which  they  are  associated.  Beer 
yeast,  for  example,  is  not  directly  engaged  in  making 
alcohol,  and  the  lactic  ferment  is  not  directly  engaged 
in  making  lactic  acid,  although  alcohol  and  lactic  acid 
are,  respectively,  the  dominant  products  resulting  from 
the  exercise  of  th?ir  physiological  activities,  when  they 
are  provided  with  the  food  that  is  best  adapted  to  their 
wants.  The  fermentable  materials  constitute  their  food 
supply,  from  which  they  take  what  is  needed  for  their 
nutrition,  and  the  resulting  residue  we  recognize  as  the 
product  of  fermentation. 

When  beer  yeast  feeds  on  sugar  it  leaves  alcohol  as  a 
prominent  constituent  of  the  residue,  which,  as  a  whole, 
will  of  course  vary  with  the  other  materials  associated 
with  the  sugar ;  the  lactic  ferment  feeds  on  milk,  and 
leaves  lactic  acid  as  a  characteristic  constituent  of  the 
residue,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  each  specific  fer- 
ment, that  it  appropriates  from  its  food  what  is  needed 
for  its  nourishment,  and  the  remains  of  the  feast  will 
vary  with  the  character  of  the  food  and  the  organism 
that  fed  upon  it. 

The  chemical  notions  of  fermentation,  the  legitimate 
consequence  of  Liebig's  theory,  were,  that  the  saccharine, 
alcoholic,  acetic,  lactic,  butyric  and  putrefactive  fer- 
mentations were  successive  stages  of  a  consecutive  series 
of  changes  tending  to  putrefaction  as  a  final  result,  and 


48  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AKD   SILAGEo 

each  fermentation  was  expressed  by  a  chemical  formula, 
or  equation,  indicating  the  supposed  rearrangement  of 
the  elements  involved  in  the  process. 

In  regard  to  these  equations  Pasteur  says  :  "  Orig- 
inally, when  fermentations  were  put  amongst  the  class 
of  decompositions  by  contact-action,  it  seemed  probable, 
and,  in  fact,  was  believed,  that  every  fermentation  had 
its  own  >\  ell-defined  equation,  which  never  varied.  In 
the  present  day,  on  the  contrary,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  equation  of  a  fermentation  varies  essen- 
tially with  the  conditions  under  which  that  fermentation 
is  accomplished,  and  that  a  statement  of  this  equation 
is  a  problem  no  less  complicated  than  that  in  the  case 
of  the  nutrition  of  a  living  being.  To  every  fermenta- 
tion may  be  assigned  an  equation,  in  a  general  sort  of  a 
way ;  an  equation,  however,  which,  in  numerous  points 
of  detail,  is  liable  to  the  thousand  variations  connected 
with  the  phenomena  of  life. 

"Moreover,  there  will  be  as  many  distinct  fermenta- 
tions brought  about  by  one  ferment,  as  there  are  ferment- 
able substances  capable  of  supplying  the  carbon  element 
of  the  food  of  that  same  ferment,  in  the  same  way  that 
the  equation  of  the  nutrition  of  an  animal  will  vary 
with  the  nature  of  the  food  which  it  consumes. 

"As  regards  fermentation  producing  alcohol,  which 
may  be  effected  by  several  different  ferments,  there  will 
be,  in  the  case  of  a  given  sugar,  as  many  general  equa- 
tions as  there  are  ferments,  whether  they  be  ferment- 
cells,  properly  so  called,  or  cells  of  the  organs  of  living 
beings  functioning  as  ferments.  In  the  same  way  the 
equation  of  nutrition  varies  in  the  case  of  different  ani- 
mals nourished  on  the  same  food.  And  it  is  from  the 
same  reason  that  ordinary  wort  produces  such  a  variety 
of  beers  when  treated  with  the  numerous  alcoholic  fer- 
ments which  we  have  described.  These  remarks  are 
applicable  to  all  ferments  alike  ;  for  instance,  butyric 


SILOS,    EXSILAGE  AND   SILAGE.  49 

ferment  is  capable  of  producing  a  host  of  distinct  fer- 
mentations, in  consequence  of  its  ability  to  derive  the 
carbonaceous  part  of  its  food  from  very  different  sub- 
stances, from  sugar,  or  lactic  acid,  or  glycerine,  or  man- 
nite,  and  many  others. 

"  When  we  say  that  every  fermentation  has  its  own 
peculiar  ferment,  it  must  be  understood  that  we  are 
speaking  of  the  fermentation  considered  as  a  whole,  in- 
cluding all  the  accessory  products. 

"  We  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  the  ferment  in  ques- 
tion is  not  capable  of  acting  on  some  other  fermentable 
substance  and  giving  rise  to  fermentation  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent kind. 

"Moreover,  it  is  quite  erroneous  to  suppose  that  the 
presence  of  a  single  one  of  the  products  of  a  fermenta- 
tion implies  the  co-existence  of  a  particular  ferment. 
If,  for  example,  we  find  alcohol  among  the  products  of 
a  fermentation,  or  even  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  gas 
together,  this  does  not  prove  that  the  ferment  must  be 
an  alcoholic  ferment,  belonging  to  alcoholic  fermentation 
in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  Nor  again,  does  the 
mere  presence  of  lactic  acid  necessarily  imply  the  pres- 
ence of  lactic  ferment.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  differ- 
ent fermentations  may  give  rise  to  one,  or  even  several, 
identical  products."* 

The  products  of  fermentation  will  then  vary  with 
the  character  of  the  materials  fermented  and  the 
specific  organism  that  acts  upon  them.  In  accept 
ing  the  physiological  theory  of  fermentation  it  will 
not  be  safe  to  assume  that  specific  micro-organisms  are 
the  sole  factors  involved  in  the  process.  As  a  pre- 
liminary step,  starch  must  be  changed  to  sugar,  and 
cane  sugar  must  be  transformed  into  grape  sugar ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  true  organized  ferments  cannot  act  directly 
on  starch  or  cane  sugar.  This  change  is  brought  about 
by  zymases,  the  so-called  soluble  ferments. 

4. 

*  Studies  on  Fermentation,  pp.  276-7. 


50  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AKD    SILAGE. 

These  "soluble  ferments  are  all  derived  directly  from 
living  organisms,  in  the  midst  of  which  they  originate/'* 
but  they  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  true,  or  organ- 
ized ferments  which  act  in  a  different  manner. 

These  zymases  appear  to  be  important  factors  in  the 
processes  of  assimilation  and  nutrition  in  all  forms  of 
vegetable  and  animal  life. 

The  starch  formed  in  the  green  cells  of  the  leaf  in 
daylight  is  transformed  into  glucose  (grape  sugar)  at 
night,  and  transferred  to  the  body  of  the  plant,  where 
it  is  stored  in  the  form  of  starch  or  cane  sugar,  as  reserve 
materials  for  the  future  use  of  the  plant.  In  the  tuber- 
ous roots  of  beets,  and  in  the  stalks  of  the  sugar  cane 
and  sorghum,  for  example,  cane  sugar  is  stored  in  con- 
siderable quantities,  as  reserve  material,  and  starch,  in 
the  same  way,  is  stored  in  the  tubers  of  the  potato. 
When  needed  again  they  are  reconverted  into  glucose, 
by  a  zymase,  elaborated  by  the  living  cells  of  the  plant, 
and  transported  again  where  they  can  serve  a  useful  pur- 
pose in  its  economy. 

The  salivary  and  pancreatic  glands  of  the  higher  ani- 
mals secrete  zymases  which  convert  starch  and  cane 
sugar  into  glucose,  that  is  stored  up  by  the  liver  in  the 
form  of  glycogen,  which  appears  to  be  reconverted  into 
glucose,  and  distributed  through  the  general  circulation 
as  the  exigences  of  the  system  require.  The  gastric  and 
pancreatic  secretions  likewise  contain  soluble  ferments 
that  convert  insoluble  proteids  into  soluble  and  diffusible 
peptones,  and  even  in  plants  peptonizing  ferments  are 
secreted  by  the  cells  to  serve  a  similar  purpose.  It  like- 
wise appears  that  the  elaboration  of  soluble  ferments  in 
animals  is  not  confined  to  the  special  glandular  organs  of 
secretion,  but  the  general  tissues  of  the  system,  as  in 
plants,  are  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  concerned  in  per- 
forming the  same  function.  It  may,  in  fact,  be  said 

*  Schutzenberger  on  Fermentation,  p.  273. 


SILOS,   ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  51 

that  the  cells  of  all  living  tissues,  whether  of  plants  or 
animals,  in  the  exercise  of  their  vital  activities  elaborate 
zymases  as  required  in  the  complex  metabolism  *  of  the 
processes  of  nutrition. 

The  first  step  in  the  fermentation  of  starch  and  cane 
sugar,  which  is  the  work  of  a  soluble  ferment  (zymase), 
seems  to  be  identical  with  the  first  step,  of  the  germina- 
tion of  seeds,  of  the  transformation  of  the  reserve  mater- 
ials in  the  growth  of  the  seed  stalk  in  tuberous  roots,  and 
of  animal  digestion. 

In  these  nutritive  processes  of  plants  and  animals, 
heat  is  liberated  as  one  of  the  constant  results  of  the 
metabolism  of  the  cells  in  the  exercise  of  their  vital 
activities.  The  heat  developed  by  plants,  as  an  incident 
of  their  nutritive  processes,  is  not  noticeable  under  ordi- 
nary conditions,  as  it  is  obscured  by  the  constant  loss  of 

*  Under  the  old  physiological  theories  many  of  the  changes  taking  place  in  the 
tissues,  or  nutritive  materials,  were  erroneously  attributed  to  a  process  of  oxida- 
tion. For  example,  respiration  was  assumed  to  be  a  combustive  process  of  oxida- 
tion, in  which  the  carbonic  acid  exhaled  was  formed  by  the  direct  union  of  car- 
bon with  the  inhaled  oxygen.  It  is  now  known  that  the  carbonic  acid  of  respira- 
tion is  formed  in  the  destructive  metamorphoses  of  the  tissues,  and  not  by  the 
direct  combination  of  oxygen  with  carbon,  as  in  ordinary  combustion.  With  the 
progress  of  physiological  knowledge,  oxygen  is,  more  and  more,  looked  upon 
as  an  essential  food  constituent,  required  in  the  constructive  processes  of  the 
tissues,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  destructive  oxidation,  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  term,  occurs,  to  any  considerable  extent,  in  living  organisms. 
Metabolism  is  the  term  now  used  to  denote  the  assemblage  of  vital  changes 
involved  in  the  processes  of  nutrition,  whether  chemical  or  physical,  without 
attempting  to  indicate  their  precise  character,  or  attributing  them  to  the  more 
than  questionable  process  of  oxidation.  "We  may  picture  to  ourselves  this 
total  change  which  we  denote  by  the  term  'metabolism,'  as  consisting  on  the  one 
hand  of  a  downward  series  of  changes  (katabolic  changes),  a  stair  of  many  steps, 
in  which  more  complex  bodies  are  broken  down  with  the  setting  free  of  energy 
into  simpler  and  simpler  waste  bodies,  and  on  the  other  hand,  of  an  upward 
series  of  changes  (anabolic  changes),  also  a  stair  of  many  steps,  by  which  the 
dead  food,  of  varying  simplicity  or  complexity  is,  with  the  further  assumption 
of  vital  energy,  built  up  into  more  and  more  complex  bodies.  The  summit  of 
this  double  stair  we  call  'protoplasm.'  Whether  we  have  a  right  to  speak  of  it  as 
a  single  body,  in  the  chemical  sense  of  that  word,  or  as  a  mixture  in  some  way  of 
several  bodies,  whether  we  should  regard  it  as  the  very  summit  of  the  double 
stair,  or  as  embracing,  as  well,  the  topmost  steps  on  either  side,  we  cannot,  at 
present,  tell.  Even  if  there  be  a  single  substance  forming  the  summit,  its  exist- 
ence is  absolutely  temporary  ;  at  one  instant  it  is  made,  at  the  next  it  is  unmade. 
Matter  which  is  passing  through  the  phase  of  life,  rolls  up  the  ascending  steps  to 
the  top,  and  forthwith  rolls  down  on  the  other  side."  Foster,  Art.  Phys.  Encycl. 
Brit.  9th  ed.  XIX,  p.  13. 


52  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AKD   SILAGE. 

heat  from  evaporation.  Under  special  conditions,  where 
the  loss  from  evaporation  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and 
the  plants  are  massed  in  an  atmosphere  saturated  with 
moisture,*  the  heat  evolved  becomes  sensible  and  is 
readily  detected. 

In  the  malting  of  barley  a  temperature  of  110°  has 
been  observed,  and  this,  too,  under  conditions  that  were 
not  the  best  to  prevent  the  loss  of  heat  from  evaporation 
and  radiation  ;  and  a  thermometer  placed  in  the  center 
of  twelve  spadixes  of  Arum  Cordifolium  showed  a  tem- 
perature of  121°  when  the  external  air  was  only  66°.  f 
The  heat  evolved  by  these  flowers  was  greatest  when  the 
plants  were  freely  exposed  to  the  air  and  the  exhalation 
of  carbonic  acid  was  most  active.  On  the  other  hand, 
Dutrochet  J  found  that  the  evolution  of  heat  in  green 
growing  plants,  as  in  the  young  twigs  and  leaves,  was 
subject  to  a  diurnal  variation,  and  that  it  was  most 
active  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  the  absorption  of 
carbonic  acid  and  the  exhalation  of  oxygen  was  going  on 
with  the  greatest  rapidity.  From  these  statements  it 
appears  that  heat  is  most  rapidly  developed  when  the 
metabolism  of  plant  cells  is  most  active,  and  this  is 
indicated  by  the  maximum  absorption  of  carbonic  acid 
in  the  green  parts,  like  the  leaves,  and  the  maximum 
exhalation  of  carbonic  acid,  in  special  organs,  as  the 
flowers  and  fruits,  in  which  chlorophyll  is  not  perform- 
ing its  special  role  of  fixing  the  carbon  of  carbonic  acid. 

The  living  cells  of  various  tissues  may  also,  as  pointed 
out  by  Pasteur,  perform  the  function  of  the  true,  or 
organized  ferments,  in  producing  alcohol,  lactic  acid, 
etc..  but  this  function  is  but  an  incident  of  their  meta- 

*  Tyndall's  experiments  on  radiant  heat  show  that  pure  dry  air  is  transparent 
to  heat  (i.  e.,  is  not  readily  heated),  but  that  moist  air  absorbs  heat,  and  is,  there- 
fore, readily  warmed.  When  air  is  nearly  saturated  with  the  vapor  of  water,  the 
absorption  of  heat  is  ninety  times  greater  than  in  dry  air.  Tyndall  on  Heat,  pp. 
398  399,  etc. 

t  Carpenter's  Comp.  Phys.,  pp.  451-452. 

JAnn.  des  Sci.  Nat.,  2d.  series,  XII,  p.  277.  Carpenter's  Comp.  Phys.,  p.  451. 
Dalton's  Human  Phys.,  pp.  240-244. 


SILOS,    EKSILAGE    AND   SILAGE. 


53 


holism,  and  not  comparable  in  efficiency  or  degree  with 
the  action  of  the  specific  organisms  of  these  fermenta- 
tions. 

In  the  ripening  of  fruits  we  have  illustrations  of  cell 
metabolism  that  are  of  particular  interest  in  this  con- 
nection. That  the  changes  taking  place  in  the  fruit 
cells  in  the  process  of  ripening  are  not  the  result  of 
direct  oxidation  by  free  atmospheric  oxygen,  is  shown 
by  the  experiments  of  Lechartier  and  Bellamy,*  and 
Pasteur,!  who  found  that  carbonic  acid  was  exhaled, 
and  alcohol  formed  in  fruits  placed  in  closed  vessels,  in 
an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid.  As  no  organized  alco- 
holic ferments  could  be  found,  this  fermentation  must 
have  been  produced  by  the  metabolism  of  the  fruit  cells 
in  the  absence  of  free  oxygen.  In  the  maturation  of 
fruits,  the  cell  metabolism  is  exceedingly  complex,  and 
it  cannot  be  formulated  in  definite  chemical  terms. 

Berard  J  gives  the  amount  of  lignine  (characteristic 
of  wood  tissue)  and  sugar,  in  100  parts  of  fruits,  at  dif- 
ferent stages  of  maturation,  as  follows  : 


Fruits. 

Lignine 

Sugar 

Green 

Ripe 

Green 

Ripe 

Apricots      

3.61 
8.45 
2.44 
1.26 
3.01 
3.08 

1.86 
8.01 
1.12 
1.11 
1.21 
2.19 

6.64 
0.52 
1.12 
17.71 
0.63 
6.45 

16.48 
6.24 
18.12 
24.81 
11.61 
11.52 

Currants  (including  seeds)      

Duke  cherries  

Green  Gage  Plums             

Melting  Peaches  

Jargonelle  Pears  

"The  fruit,  while  still  green,  it  may  be  remarked, 
decomposes  carbonic  acid  and  emits  oxygen,  like  the 
leaves ;  but  when  it  ripens,  this  chemical  action  on  the 
atmosphere  alters.  In  other  words,  carbonic  acid  is 
given  out,  accompanied  by  a  sensible  rise  in  temper- 
ature, while  oxygen  is  absorbed. 

66  The  fibrous  and  cellular  tissues  also  diminish  as  the 

*  Compt.  rend.,  69,  p.  466,  etc. 

t  Compt.  rend.,  75,  pp.  784=  and  1054.    Pasteur,  Studies  on  Fermentation,  p.  268. 
t Brown's  Manual  of  Botany,  p.  4=70,  refers  to  Ann.  de  Chim.  et  de  Phys.,  Ser.  2, 
XVI,  p.  152. 


54 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 


sugar  increases,  the  latter  substance  being  partly  pro- 
duced at  the  expense  of  the  former."*  M.  Cahours,f 
in  1864,  observed  that  the  volume  of  carbonic  acid  pro- 
duced by  fruits  in  ripening,  exceeded  the  volume  of 
oxygen  absorbed,  so  that  it  was  undoubtedly  the  result 
of  cell  metabolism,  and  not  of  direct  oxidation. 

These  observations  were  confirmed  by  the  experiments 
of  Lechartier  and  Bellamy,  J  who  also  noticed  that  the 
development  of  carbonic  acid  was  not  uniformly  con- 
stant, but  varied  widely  at  different  periods,  and  that 
it  was  more  rapid  in  the  day  than  at  night,  which  is  a 
further  indication  that  it  was  elaborated  as  a  function  of 
the  life  of  the  fruit  cells,  and  that  the  absorbed  oxygen 
was  utilized  in  these  vital  activities.  But  the  metabo- 
lism of  the  cells  in  ripening  fruits  is  not  limited  to  the 
decrease  in  woody  fibre  and  the  exhalation  of  carbonic 
acid  as  the  sugar  increases.  A.  Hilger,  ||  in  experiments 
on  two  varieties  of  grapes  (Austrian  and  Riesling),  found 
that  the  acid  diminished  as  the  sugar  increased,  in  the 
process  of  ripening,  as  seen  in  the  following  table  : 


Sugar 

Acid 

Austrian 

Riesling 

Austrian     |      Riesling 

Date 

Leaves  |  Fruit  |  Leaves 

Fruit 

Fruit        |        Fruit 

May  19 

0.18 

1.20 

oime  27 

1.03 

1.37 

1.00 

1.01 

Aug.   16 

1.08 

1.33 

1.03 

1.23 

4.65 

4.95 

Aug.  22 

1.02 

2.18 

1.05 

1.81 

2.55 

2.47 

Aug.   28 

1.06 

4.25 

1.12 

2.39 

1.27 

1.65 

Sept.  1 

1.08 

2.53 

1.14 

2.58 

1.27 

1.20 

Sept.  12 

1.08 

4.49 

1.14 

2.89 

1.20 

1.19 

Sept.  17 

1.82 

5.33 

1.43 

3.87 

0.67 

1.05 

Sept.  23 

3.53 

7.71 

3.64 

7.70 

0.60 

0.75 

Oct.  10 

1.33 

9.90 

1.84 

8.64 

0.52 

0.67 

Nov.  10 

0.52 

9.90 

0.72 

8.21 

0.52 

0.75 

Mercadante  found  that  both  malic  acid  and  sugar 
increased  in  plums  while  green,  and  that  tannin  dimin- 
ished, but  as  the  fruit  ripened  the  tannin  disappeared, 

*  Brown,  1.  c.  p.  469. 

t  Compt.  rend.  69,  p.  356,  as  quoted  by  Lechartier  and  Bellamy. 

t  Compt.  rend.  69,  p.  466,  etc. 

IILandw.  vexsuchs-stat.  XVII,  pp.  245-251.   Jour.  Chem.  Soc.,  1875  (28),  p.  281. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  55 

and  sugar  was  formed  at  the  expense  of  the  malic  acid, 
as  shown  in  the  following  table  :  * 


Date 

Sugar 

Malic  Acid 

June  20th 
June  24th 
June  30th 
July  4th 
July  12th 

16.52 
16.54 
16.78 
17.05 
17.38 

2.76  (p.  c.  in  pulp). 
2.46     "               " 
2.16     " 
1.57      "               " 
0.82     "               " 

The  real  significance  of  the  facts  already  presented 
cannot  be  clearly  seen  if  our  attention  is  confined  to  the 
obvious  chemical  changes  taking  place  at  different  stages 
of  growth,  without  taking  into  consideration  the  law  of 
the  conservation  of  energy  in  its  relations  to  organic  life. 
With  the  progress  of  biological  science,  the  metamor- 
phoses of  matter  in  organic  processes,  which  have  been 
the  almost  exclusive  subjects  of  study  until  within  a  few 
years  past,  are  coming  to  be  looked  upon  as  of  less  and 
less  importance,  while  the  transformations  of  energy  are 
being  recognized  as  dominant  factors  in  all  vital  activ- 
ities. Heat  and  light  are  the  main  sources  of  energy 
concerned  in  the  processes  of  nutrition  and  growth,  and 
in  general  terms,  the  leading  phenomena  of  plant  meta- 
bolism may  be  summarized  as  follows  :  In  the  building 
up  of  tissues  (constructive  metabolism),  work  is  per- 
formed and  an  expenditure  of  energy  is  made  at  the 
expense  of  the  heat  and  light  supplied  to  the  plant 
Step  by  step  comparatively  simple  food  materials  are 
converted  into  more  and  more  complex  organic  com- 
pounds, resulting  in  the  formation  of  living  protoplasm, 
an  essential  constituent  of  every  cell,  as  the  final  and 
most  complex  state  of  constructive  metabolism. 

An  expenditure  and  storing  up  of  energy  is  involved 
in  every  step  of  this  process.  This  stored-up  energy  is 
spoken  of  as  potential  energy,  that  may  afterwards  be- 
come active  in  doing  work,  or  become  sensible  in  the 
form  of  heat. 

*  Jour.  Chem.  Soc.  XXVIII  (1876),  904,  quoted  by  Prescott,  Mich.  Pom.  Rep'fc 
1877,  p.  152. 


56  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  A1O>  SILAGE. 

From  the  complexity  and  high  potential  energy  of  the 
molecules  of  protoplasm,  a  reverse  process  at  once  begins 
(destructive  metabolism),  and  complex  compounds  are 
resolved,  step  by  step,  into  those  that  are  relatively 
simple,  and  starch,  cellulose,  and  other  plant  constitu- 
ents are  formed,  in  the  retrograde  metamorphosis  of  the 
protoplasm. 

This  destructive  metabolism  is  quite  as  essential  to 
the  life  and  well-being  of  the  plant  as  the  parallel  con- 
structive process,  and  the  two  are  simultaneously  taking 
place  in  the  normal  nutritive  changes  of  every  cell. 

The  stored-up  energy  resulting  from  the  cumulative 
effects  of  constructive  metabolism  appears  as  heat  in  the 
process  of  destructive  metabolism,  and  when  not  util- 
ized in  work  or  dissipated  by  radiation,  may  be  detected 
by  the  thermometer,  as  in  the  ripening  of  fruits,  the 
malting  of  barley,  and  in  the  flowers  of  the  Arum  in  the 
experiments  to  which  reference  has  been  made.  In  the 
normal  life  of  plant  cells  there  is,  then,  an  expenditure 
of  energy  in  work,  and  a  storing  up  of  energy  in  com- 
plex organic  substances,  which  is  immediately  followed 
by  the  breaking  down  of  complex  molecules,  the  libera- 
tion of  heat,  and  the  elaboration  of  substances  like 
starch,  cellulose,  various  nitrogenous  bodies,  and  zy- 
mases,  which  can  be  utilized  by  the  plant,  and  inter- 
vene between  the  complex  protoplasm  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  final  waste  products  on  the  other. 

It  is  important  that  we  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  the 
heat  resulting  from  the  metabolism  of  plants  and  ani- 
mals is  evolved  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  the  con- 
servation of  energy  which  is  as  strictly  applicable  in  the 
organic  kingdom  of  nature  as  in  the  inorganic.  Plants 
do  not  produce  heat,  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the 
term,  but  it  is  liberated  from  the  stored- up  energy  of  the 
more  complex  molecules  when  they  are  converted  into 
simpler  compounds,  as,  for  example,  when  starch  is 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SIl^GE.  57 

formed  from  protoplasm.  As  heat  is  liberated  in  the 
manufacture  of  starch  from  the  more  complex  molecules 
of  protoplasm,  it  will  be  seen  that  starch  has  less  poten- 
tial energy  than  the  protoplasm  from  which  it  is  formed. 

The  stored-up  energy  of  organic  substances  may  also 
be  transformed  into  heat  by  the  process  of  combustive  oxi- 
dation, as  well  as  by  the  metabolism  of  the  living  cells. 
"  The  heat  which  is  given  out  by  burning  the  organic 
substance  is  but  the  conversion  into  kinetic  energy  of  the 
potential  energy  stored  up  in  the  substance.  The  heat, 
for  instance,  which  is  given  out  by  burning  wood,  or  coal, 
represents  the  kinetie  energy,  derived  principally  from 
the  sun's  rays,  by  which  were  effected  the  processes  of 
constructive  metabolism  of  which  the  wood,  or  coal,  was 
the  product."* 

When  a  healthy  balance  is  maintained  between  the  con- 
structive and  the  destructive  metabolism  of  the  cell,  its 
activities  are  vigorously  carried  on,  if  other  conditions  are 
favorable  ;  but  with  a  lowering  or  loss  of  cell  vitality,  an 
invasion  by  the  true,  or  organic  ferments  cannot  be 
resisted,  and  these  in  their  turn  become  the  leading 
factors  in  the  changes  which  follow.  And  here  we  have 
a  further  illustration  of  the  law  of  the  conservation  of 
energy.  The  heat  evolved  in  the  processes  of  fermenta- 
tion and  putrefaction  has  the  same  origin  as  that  devel- 
oped in  the  metabolism  of  plants  and  animals.  The 
microbes  that  cause  fermentation  do  not  produce  the  heat 
observed,  but  they  feed  upon  the  fermentable  materials, 
and  among  the  results  which  follow,  the  stored-up  ener- 
gy of  these  organic  substances  is  liberated  in  the  form  of 
heat.  It  will  be  seen,  moreover,  that  when  this  heat  is 
not  dissipated  by  conduction  or  radiation  it  may  be  suf- 
ficient to  prove  fatal  to  the  organisms  that  are  concerned 
in  liberating  it. 

The  phenomena  usually  included  in  the  general  term 

*Encycl.  Brit.  9tb  ed.  vol  xix  p.  56. 


58  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

fermentation  may  then  be  considered  under  two  distinct 
heads  :  1st,  the  zymases,  or  so-called  soluble  ferments, 
which  are  elaborated  in  the  exercise  of  the  normal 
functional  activity  of  the  living  cells  of  the  tissues. 
They  "invert"  cane  sugar  and  convert  it  into  glucose, — 
change  starch  into  sugar,  or  like  the  pancreatic  secre- 
tion, change  insoluble  proteids  into  soluble  and  diffusi- 
ble peptones,  or  in  general  terms  they  may  be  said  to 
bring  about  those  changes  which  facilitate  the  transfer 
and  assimilation  of  food  materials,  and  according  to 
Dumas,  they  "always  sacrifice  themselves  in  the  exer- 
cise of  their  activity."  They  do  not  act  like  the  true 
ferments,  and  they  must  be  looked  upon  as  essential  fac- 
tors in  the  physiological  activities  of  both  plants  and 
animals. 

3d,  The  true  ferments,  which,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
living  organisms  that  increase  and  grow  at  the  expense 
of  the  substances  fermented,  and  produce  fermentation 
as  an  incident  of  their  vital  processes. 

Pasteur  defines  the  true  fermentations  as  physiological 
activities,  "  the  direct  consequence  of  the  processes  of 
nutrition,  assimilation  and  life,  when  they  are  carried 
on  without  the  agency  of  free  oxygen,"  or,  "as  a  result 
of  life  without  air."  The  true  ferments  may  be  divided 
into  two  groups  : 

1st,  The  saccharomyces,  or  budding  fungi,  of  which 
beer  yeast  may  be  taken  as  the  type.  They  are  real 
microscopic  plants  that  multiply  by  budding,  and  have 
likewise  a  process  of  reproduction  by  spores.  The 
prominent  members  of  this  group  are  alcoholic  ferments. 

#d,  The  so-called  schizomycetes,  or  fission  fungi,  that 
are  perhaps  better  called  microbes,  or  bacteria.* 

*De  Bary,  an  acknowledged  authority  on  these  lower  forms  of  life,  says  the 
members  of  this  group  are  not  properly  fungi,  and  he  prefers  to  call  them  Bac- 
teria. He  would  likewise  avoid  the  use  of  the  term  Bacterium  as  a  generic  name. 
If,  however,  Bacterium  is  retained  as  the  name  of  a  genus,  the  group  will  be  bet- 
ter designated  by  the  general  term  Microbes. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  59 

They  multiply  by  fission,  each  individual  "  dividing 
into  two  similar  daughter  cells  through  an  unlimited 
number  of  generations." 

Keproduction  by  spores  has  been  observed  in  many 
species,  and  it  is  probable  that  this  process  is  common 
to  all.  To  this  group  belong  various  specific  ferments, 
as  the  lactic,  acetic,  butyric,  etc.,  and  a  number  of 
forms  that  produce  putrefaction.  They  are  all  micro- 
scopic forms,  many  of  them  less  than  25000  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  they  are,  at  present,  classified  from  pecul- 
iarities of  form.* 

The  conditions  of  temperature,  moisture  and  food 
supply,  as  already  noticed,  have  a  marked  influence  on 
the  vital  activities  of  bacteria,  and  they  will,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  determine  the  successful  reproduction 
and  growth  of  a  particular  species,  to  the  exclusion,  for 
the  time,  of  other  less  favored  species.  In  the  struggle 
for  existence,  the  individuals  that  are  best  adapted  to 
the  sum  of  the  conditions  in  which  they  are  placed,  will 
have  many  advantages  over  their  competitors,  and  this 
will  enable  them  to  take  the  lead  in  appropriating  the 
materials  required  in  their  processes  of  nutrition,  and 
thus  become  masters  of  the  situation. 

Any  change  in  the  surrounding  conditions  that  places 
this  favored  form  at  a  disadvantage,  will  tend  to  check 
its  activities,  and  bring  to  the  front  some  other  form 
that  is  better  adapted  to  the  new  conditions.  The 
normal  activities  of  a  dominant  form  may  prepare  the 
way  for  its  own  suppression  and  favor  the  aggressions  of 
its  rivals.  An  exhaustion,  or  even  scarcity,  of  its  appro- 
priate food  supply,  or  the  form  in  which  the  food  is 
furnished,  or  an  accumulation  of  residues  resulting  from 

*  The  globular  forms  are  called  Cocci,  the  smaller  ones  Micrococci,  and  the 
larger  Macrococci.  When  grouped  in  pairs  they  are  Diplococci,  and  when  in 
chains  or  rows  Streptococci.  The  rod-like  forms,  if  short,  have  been  called  Bac- 
teria, and  the  longer  rods  Bacilli.  Spirally  curved  forms  are  Spirilla,  Spirochsetse, 
or  Vibrios. 


60  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

its  own  processes  of  nutrition,  will  serve  to  check  its 
yital  powers,  and  at  the  same  time  prove  of  immediate 
advantage  to  some  other  species. 

Many  illustrations  might  be  given  of  the  well  known 
fact  that  a  repression  of  the  vital  powers,  and  even  the 
death  of  an  organism  may  be  caused  as  a  direct  result  of 
the  exercise  of  its  own  normal  activities.  In  a  confined 
atmosphere  animals  are  killed  by  the  carbonic  acid  ex- 
haled in  the  process  of  respiration.  Yeast  is  an  alcoholic 
ferment,  but  its  activity  as  a  ferment  is  checked  or  en- 
tirely suppressed  by  an  accumulation  of  the  alcohol  re- 
sulting from  its  own  processes  of  nutrition.  "  The  wines 
produced  from  the  rich  juices  of  Southern  grapes  always 
contain  unfermented  sugar,"  *  the  alcohol  produced  be- 
ing sufficient  to  stop  the  process  of  fermentation  before 
the  sugar  is  all  consumed. 

When  lactic  acid  is  allowed  to  accumulate  beyond  a 
certain  amount,  the  lactic  ferment  ceases  to  perform  its 
function  ;  the  microbes  of  nitrification  are  unable  to  act 
as  ferments  in  the  absence  of  lime  or  some  other  salifi- 
able  base  to  combine  with  the  nitric  acid  as  it  is  elabo- 
rated, and  under  such  conditions  they  are  superseded 
by  other  forms  that  have  no  such  special  requirements. 
One  ferment  may  thus  succeed  another,  as  the  condi- 
tions of  life  are  changed  to  favor  it  and  restrain  the 
activities  of  its  predecessor.  The  process  of  putrefaction 
is  not  a  single  fermentation  produced  by  any  single  spe- 
cific form,  but  an  indefinite  series  of  fermentative 
changes  brought  about  by  a  succession  of  microbes, 
each  of  which,  in  its  processes  of  nutrition,  prepares  the 
way  for  those  that  follow,  until,  by  their  combined 
action,  the  putrefactive  materials  are  reduced  to  their 
simplest  chemical  combinations. 

The  temperature  most  favorable  for  the  activity  of 
bacteria  will  yary  with  the  species,  the  conditions  of 

*  Encycl.  Brit.  9th  ed.  1  x  p.  94. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  61 

moisture,  and  the  supply  of  nutritive  materials  in  an 
available  form.  A  temperature  of  from  60°  to  100°  F. 
seems  to  be  best  for  the  rapid  reproduction  and  growth 
of  most  species,  while  that  of  122°  to  132°  is  fatal  to  the 
acid-producing  ferments  and  to  those  of  putrefaction. 
When  perfectly  dry,  a  higher  temperature  may  be  borne 
with  impunity,  but  when  wet,  a  considerably  lower  tem- 
perature, if  continued  for  several  hours,  will  prove  fatal. 
In  my  experiments  with  the  microbes  of  the  acid  fer- 
mentations, they  have  been  observed  to  succumb  to  a 
temperature  of  115°,  under  what  may  be  considered 
exceptional  conditions,  but  even  at  lower  temperatures 
their  vital  activities  are  readily  checked  and  their  special 
functions  as  ferments  reduced  to  a  minimum  without 
absolutely  proving  fatal.  It  is  important  to  clearly  dis- 
tinguish the  differences  in  the  effects  of  temperature  on 
the  spores,  or  germs,  and  on  the  mature  bacteria.  The 
spores,  of  species  that  are  readily  killed  in  the  mature 
form  by  a  temperature  of  122°,  may  be  able  to  withstand 
a  temperature  of  212°  for  several  minutes,  or  under 
special  conditions  for  several  hours. 

The  intermittent  method  of  heating  discovered  by 
Prof.  Tyndall  is  a  convenient  and  efficient  mode  of 
destroying  bacteria  at  comparatively  moderate  tempera- 
tures.* I  have  repeatedly  succeeded  in  sterilizing  cul- 
ture fluids,  which  involves,  of  course,  the  destruction  of 
all  mature  bacteria  and  their  germs,  by  raising  the  tem- 
perature for  one  minute  to  122°,  at  intervals  of  about 
twelve  hours,  for  a  week  or  ten  days.  A  temperature  of 
from  122°  to  132°,  if  frequently  repeated,  or  maintained 
continuously  for  several  days,  seems  to  be  quite  as  effi- 
cient in  killing  the  germs  of  bacteria  as  considerably 
higher  temperatures  for  a  short  time.  No  arbitrary 
rule  can  then  be  laid  down  as  to  the  precise  thermal 
death-point  of  any  particular  species,  as  much  will 

*  Floating  Matter  in  the  Air.  pp.  210,  337. 


62  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  A^D   SILAGE. 

depend -upon  the  conidtions  under  which  the  heat  is 
applied. 

From  this  outline  of  our  present  knowledge  relating 
to  the  subject,  it  must  be  seen  that  the  micro-organisms 
of  fermentation  and  putrefaction  cannot  be  overlooked 
in  discussing  the  practical  principles  that  must  guide  us 
in  the  ensilage  of  green  fodder,  and  that  generalizations 
based  on  observations  in  which  their  activities  are 
ignored  cannot  safely  be  made. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   SILO. 

A  silo  is,  in  effect,  a  tight  box  or  chamber,  in  which 
green  fodder  may  be  stored  and  preserved.  The  sides 
must  be  smooth  and  vertical,  so  that  the  silage  may  set- 
tle uniformly  and  freely,  and  the  bottom  should  be 
water-tight  and  without  drainage.  It  may  be  made  of 
any  form,  provided  these  essentials  are  secured,  but, 
taking  everything  into  consideration,  the  rectangle  will 
be  found  most  satisfactory  for  the  ground  plan. 

MATERIALS. 

Massive  and  expensive  silos  of  masonry  have  been 
made  by  the  followers  of  M.  Goffart,  and  it  has  been 
claimed  that  they  were  essential  to  the  successful  ensi- 
lage of  green  fodder.  Others  ha\e  recommended  con- 
crete as  the  best  material  that  can  be  used  in  their  con- 
struction. The  only  valid  argument  that  can  be  urged 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE.  63 

in  favor  of  masonry  or  concrete  for  the  walls  of  the 
silo  is  that  of  durability.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must 
be  observed  they  are  good  conductors  of  heat  (and  frost), 
and  this  in  itself  is  an  objection  that  more  than  counter- 
balances an}7"  apparent  advantages  that  may  otherwise  be 
claimed  for  them. 

From  a  careful  study  of  the  subject  and  a  personal 
examination  of  the  silage  in  a  large  number  of  silos  of 
all  kinds,  I  cannot  escape  the  conclusion  that,  taking 
everything  into  consideration,  wood  is  the  best  material 
that  can  be  used  in  the  construction  of  the  silo.  As  a 
nonconductor  of  heat,  it  is  far  better  than  masonry  or 
concrete,  and  in  most  localities,  and  perhaps  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  it  is  the  cheapest. 

If  reasonable  precautions  are  taken  in  building,  and 
suitable  preservatives,  like  crude  petroleum,  and  roofing 
pitch,  or  tar,  are  judiciously  applied,  which  can  be  done 
at  a  comparatively  trifling  expense,  it  cannot  be  objec- 
tionable on  the  score  of  durability.  The  application  of 
preservatives  will  be  considered  under  the  head  of 
construction. 

FORM   AND   SIZE   OF   THE   SILO. 

The  quantity  of  fodder  to  be  ensilaged,  and  the  num- 
ber of  animals  it  is  desirable  to  provide  feei  for,  should 
determine  the  size  and  general  form  and  proportion  of 
the  silo.  On  the  start,  it  may  be  well  to  bear  in  mind 
the  fact  that  in  feeding  out  ensilage,  if  a  large  surface 
is  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  number  of  days,  it  is  liable  to 
be  seeded  with  the  germs  of  molds  and  putrefactive 
bacteria,  so  that  its  value  as  cattle  food  may  be  materi- 
ally diminished. 

To  obviate  this  difficulty,  it  is  a  common  practice  to 
cut  down  the  silage  in  narrow  slices,  or  strips,  but  in 
this  method  the  wall  of  silage  remains  exposed  to  atmos- 
pheric contamination  during  the  time  the  strip  cut  off 


64  SILOS;    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

is  being  fed  out ;  and,  moreover,  this  involves  an  unnec- 
essary expenditure  of  labor  in  feeding,  particularly  in 
cutting  down  and  handling  the  fodder  at  a  disadvantage. 
It  would  be  better  to  make  the  proportions  of  the  silo  so 
that,  by  feeding  from  one  end,  or  from  the  entire  top 
surface,  a  fresh  layer  would  be  exposed  every  time  the 
animals  are  fed.  On  the  whole,  several  small  silos  will 
be  found  more  convenient,  so  far  as  the  economy  of 
feed  and  labor  is  concerned,  than  one  very  large  one  of 
equivalent  capacity,  and  these  should  be  of  such  propor- 
tions as  to  require  several  inches  in  depth  of  the  exposed 
silage  to  be  removed  each  time  the  animals  are  fed. 

Uniformity  in  the  quality  of  the  feed  will  thus  be 
secured,  with  a  minimum  loss  of  nutritive  materials. 
The  small  silos  have  also  advantages  in  the  process  of 
filling,  as  will  be  noticed  hereafter.  The  number  of 
animals  to  be  fed  will  thus  have  an  influence  in  deter- 
mining the  dimensions  of  the  silo  in  transverse  section. 

The  walls  of  the  silo  may  be  12,  14  or  16  feet  high, 
and  it  will  seldom  be  advisable  to  exceed  the  latter  fig- 
ure. Silos  with  walls  from  20  to  30  feet  high  have  been 
made,  but  without  any  apparent  advantage. 

The  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  silage  will  vary  with  the 
condition  of  the  crop  when  put  into  the  silo,  the  depth 
of  the  silage,  and  the  pressure  applied  when  it  is  cov- 
ered. From  35  to  50  Ibs.  per  cubic  foot  will  represent 
the  range  of  variation  reported,  and  40  Ibs.  may  be 
safely  assumed  as  the  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  in  approxi- 
mately estimating  the  storage  capacity  of  the  silo. 

It  is  better  to  err  on  the  safe  side  in  estimates  of  the 
amount  of  feed  stored  in  the  silo,  when  the  actual 
weight  is  not  determined  at  the  time  of  filling.  A  con- 
siderable settling  of  the  silage  takes  place  after  the  silo 
is  filled,  and  allowance  must  be  made  for  this  in  estimat- 
ing the  storage  capacity  of  the  silo. 

From  the  data  presented,  a  silo  12x16  feet  should  hold 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  65 

from  46  to  56  tons  ;  one  of  12x24  feet  over  80  tons ;  one 
of  14x32  feet  over  125  tons ;  and  one  of  16x38  feet  over 
170  tons.  In  the  reports  on  feeding  silage  the  amount 
fed  to  a  cow  per  day 'is  usually  stated  at  from  40  to  60 
Ibs.  when  supplemented  with  other  feed,  and  50  Ibs.  per 
day  will  perhaps  fairly  represent  the  average. 

At  this  rate  a  cow  would  consume  1,500  Ibs.,  or  three- 
fourths  of  a  ton,  in  30  days,  and  20  cows  would  require 
half  a  ton  a  day,  or  15  tons  in  30  days.  The  56  tons 
which  may  be  stored  in  a  12x16  feet  silo  would  therefore 
serve  as  the  silage  ration  of  20  cows  for  over  3  1-2 
months.  Such  calculations,  as  a  matter  of  course,  will 
only  serve  to  indicate  approximately  the  amount  of 
silage  that  may  be  fed,  under  fairly  good  management, 
and  the  storage  capacity  of  the  silo  required  for  its 
preservation,  as  much  will  depend  upon  the  animals  to 
which  it  is  fed,  the  complementary  food  supply,  and 
the  system  of  feeding  practiced. 

LOCATION   OF  THE  SILO. 

Much  ingenuity  has  been  displayed  in  building  silos 
under  the  floor  of  the  stable,  in  the  side  of  a  sloping 
bank,  or  partly  below  the  levol  of  the  stable  floor,  but 
most  of  these  plans  are  based  on  mistaken  notions  of 
what  constitutes  economy  in  the  ensilage  of  green  fodder. 
Silos  that  are  below,  or  partly  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  may  be  easily  filled,  but  the  manual  labor 
involved  in  raising  the  mass  of  silage  to  the  level  of  the 
feeding  floor  is  an  unanswerable  objection  to  this  plan  of 
construction. 

As  the  green  fodder,  both  before  and  after  it  is  placed 
in  the  silo,  contains  a  large  proportion  of  water,  and  is 
therefore  heavy  to  handle,  the  economy  of  labor  in  its 
management  is  an  important  consideration,  if  the  largest 

benefit  is  to  be  derived  from  the  process.     Attention  to 
5 


66  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AKD  SILAGE. 

a  few  simple  propositions  will  be  of  material  assistance 
in  the  planning  and  construction  of  a  silo. 

In  the  interests  of  a  judicious  economy  the  silo  should 
be  so  placed  that  it  can  be  conveniently  filled,  and  as 
conveniently  emptied,  without  any  unnecessary  hand 
labor  in  the  transportation  or  handling  of  the  silage. 

As  the  filling  of  the  silo  is  almost  entirely  done  by 
machinery,  under  proper  management,  the  last-men- 
tioned consideration  should  have  the  most  weight  in 
determining  the  plan  and  location  of  the  silo.  It  will 
cost  less  to  elevate  the  cut  fodder  to  the  top  of  a  silo 
above  ground,  by  a  carrier  attached  to  the  cutter,  at  the 
time  of  filling,  than  to  raise  it  by  hand  a  less  distance, 
from  the  pit  to  the  level  of  the  feeding  floor,  as  the 
silage  is  fed  out,  even  if  a  windlass  or  pulley  is  used  to 
save  manual  labor.  As  large  a  proportion  of  the  work 
as  possible  should  be  done  with  a  machine,  and  hand 
labor  should  be  economized  as  far  as  practicable.  In 
the  application  of  this  principle,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  bottom  of  the  silo  should  be  on  the  same  level 
with  the  feeding  floor,  and  continuous  with  it,  so  that 
a  truck  can  be  used  to  distribute  the  silage  with  the 
least  expenditure  of  hand  labor.  The  silo  may  be  an 
independent  structure  or  annex  to  the  barn,  in  immedi- 
ate and  convenient  proximity  to  the  stables,  or  it  may 
be  built  inside  the  barn,  in  which  case  a  roof  would  not 
be  needed.  If  the  stable  accommodations  are  limited, 
the  latter  plan  would,  however,  be  of  questionable  econ- 
omy. If  the  barn  is  so  situated  that  the  silo  must  be 
built  in  the  side  of  a  sloping  bank  to  secure  convenience 
of  access  from  the  stables,  three  plans  of  construction 
may  be  suggested  :  1st,  the  lower  part  of  the  silo  may 
be  of  masonry,  where  it  is  in  immediate  contact  with 
the  bank  ;  or  2d,  a  retaining  wall  of  masonry  may  be 
built  as  a  protection  to  the  walls  of  the  silo,  which  may 
be  built  of  wood  inside  of,  but  not  in  connection  with  it ; 


SILOS,    EKSILAGE   AtfD   SILAGE.  67 

or,  3d,  the  entire  structure  may  be  of  wood,  if  sufficient 
care  is  taken  to  prevent  decay,  and  it  has  strength  to 
resist  the  pressure  of  the  bank  of  earth.  In  the  latter 
case,  hot  roofing  pitch  should  be  freely  used  on  all  of 
the  scantling  and  boards  that  are  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  and  the  outside  sheathing,  between  the 
studs  and  the  wall  of  earth,  should  be  of  two-inch 
planks,  to  withstand  the  external  pressure.  Large  sills 
of  timber  should  not  be  used,  as  scantling  two  inches 
thick  will  furnish  sufficient  strength,  and  they  can  be 
better  saturated  with  the  hot  pitch  applied  for  their  pro- 
tection. Of  these  plans,  the  second,  although  costing 
somewhat  more  than  the  others,  has  many  advantages, 
which,  on  the  whole,  should  give  it  the  preference. 

When  the  silo  forms  part  of  the  original  plan  of  the 
barn  and  the  stables,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  secure  an 
arrangement  of  details  that  is  consistent  with  the  strict- 
est economy  in  the  system  of  management. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

As  wooden  silos  are,  on  the  whole,  to  be  preferred,  we 
may  proceed  to  consider  some  of  the  leading  principles 
involved  in  their  construction,  without  stopping  to  give 
directions  for  the  building  of  silos  of  masonry  or  con- 
crete. Aside  from  the  conditions  required  for  the 
preservation  of  green  fodder,  the  silo  should  be  made  so 
that  it  may  be  classed  among  the  permanent  improve- 
ments of  the  farm,  and  every  reasonable  precaution 


68  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

should  be  taken  in  its  construction,  to  insure  the  essen- 
tial qualities  of  stability  and  durability.  The  least 
expensive  structure  will  not  prove  to  be  the  cheapest,  if 
these  indispensable  qualities  are  not  secured. 

The  decay  of  a  wooden  silo  does  not,  as  a  general  rule, 
arise  from  a  necessary  and  inherent  defect  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  material  used,  but  from  the  neglect  of  cer- 
tain principles  in  the  details  of  construction,  which  in 
themselves  involve  but  a  comparatively  slight  increase  in 
the  original  cost  of  the  structure.  Too  often  consider- 
able expense  is  incurred  in  attempts  to  make  the  build- 
ing more  durable  by  devices  that  in  effect  are  sources 
of  weakness,  and  tend  to  favor  the  processes  of  decay. 

For  strength,  economy  of  materials  and  labor,  the 
"balloon  frame"  has  many  advantages  that  recom- 
mend it  as  the  best,  in  the  construction  of  the  silo. 
Persons  who  are  not  familiar  with  the  "balloon  sys- 
tem" of  building  are  liable  to  err  on  the  side  of  excess, 
in  the  size  and  number  of  timbers,  and  unnecessary 
details  are  often  planned  which  add  to  the  cost  of 
construction,  without  any  compensating  advantages. 
Sills  of  timber  are  frequently  framed  together  for  the 
foundation  of  the  balloon  frame,  and  in  many  respects 
they  are  a  source  of  weakness  instead  of  strength.  In 
the  balloon  frame  proper,  scantling  from  2x4  to  2x12 
are  all  that  are  needed,  and  the  larger  sizes  (2x10  and 
2x12)  are  seldom  required.  The  scantling  should  all 
have  the  ends  cut  square,  without  any  pretence  of  fram- 
ing, and  the  junctions  should  be  toe-nailed,  or  secured 
with  spikes.  Eound  steel  nails  of  all  sizes  can  now  be 
bought  at  nearly  the  same  price  per  pound  as  cut  nails 
and  spikes,  and  as  the  steel  nails  are  lighter,  the  greater 
number  in  a  pound  makes  them,  on  the  whole,  the 
cheapest,  and  they  are  also  much  better  for  all  purposes 
in  building  a  silo.  The  scantling  and  boards  for  the 
walls  of  the  silo  should  be  sound,  well  seasoned  and  free 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  69 

from  sap-wood.  Green  lumber  should  never  be  used,  as 
it  is  more  liable  to  decay,  and,  moreover,  when  the  usual 
preservatives,  petroleum  or  roofing  pitch,  are  applied, 
disappointment  in  the  results  will  probably  follow. 
Among  the  precautions  to  secure  durability,  the  liberal 
und  judicious  use  of  petroleum  and  roofing  pitch  or  tar, 
may  be  urged  as  of  the  first  importance. 

The  manner  in  which  these  preservatives  are  applied 
is  a  matter  of  no  little  consequence,  if  the  best  results 
are  to  be  obtained.  When  applied  boiling  hot  to  dry, 
seasoned  wood,  they  penetrate  the  fibres  to  a  consider- 
able depth,  and  a  permanent  effect  is  produced.  A 
superficial  coat  of  cold  tar  will  not  be  found  an  efficient 
protection  to  timber,  particularly  if  it  is  in  contact  with 
moist  earth.  A  single  application  of  hot  roofing  pitch 
to  a  dry,  seasoned  pine  plank,  will,  however,  usually 
penetrate  to  about  the  depth  of  one  inch,  as  may  be 
seen  on  examination  of  a  cross  section.  If  both  sides  of 
a  two-inch  plank  are  thus  treated,  the  wood  is  practi- 
cally saturated  with  the  pitch,  and  its  durability  will  be 
increased  not  only  by  resisting  the  ordinary  elements  of 
decay,  but  in  its  wearing  qualities  when  used  as  a  floor.* 
In  building  a  silo  the  scantling  and  boards  for  sheathing 
may  be  cut  of  proper  length,  the  ends  being  square,  and 
the  hot  petroleum  or  coal  tar  may  then  be  applied  to 


*  Mineral  pitch  and  coal  tar  are  refuse  products  of  eras  works.  A  mixture  of  the 
two  is  usually  made  for  roofing  purposes,  and  also  for  making  sidewalks,  when  it 
is  known  as  asphalt.  Coal  tar  is  too  sticky  at  ordinary  temperatures  unless  it 
has  been  boiled,  as  it  should  be  if  used  alone,  and  the  pitch,  on  the  other  hand, 
from  its  higher  melting  point,  is  liable  to  get  too  hard  before  it  can  penetrate  the 
timber,  and  thus  form  a  superficial  coating.  By  a  judicious  mixture  of  the  two 
these  extremes  are  avoided  and  the  mo^t  satisfactory  results  are  obtained.  In 
heating  or  boiling  them  care  should  be  taken  to  prevent  the  inflammable  vapors 
from  coming  in  contact  wi  h  the  blaze.  Crude  petroleum,  and  coal  tar  too,  may 
be  used  by  themselves  on  the  scantling  and  sheathing  boards  in  the  process  of 
construction,  but  on  timbers  in  contact  with  the  ground,  and  for  the  inside  finish 
of  the  walls  when  the  silo  is  complete,  a  mixture  of  the  Ur  and  pitch  will  give  a 
better  body  and  is  therefore  to  be  preferred.  A  swab,  consisting  of  a  suitable 
stick  for  a  handle  about  three  or  four  feet  long,  with  a  strong  cloth  wound  around 
one  end  and  stoutly  secured  with  a  cord,  will  be  found  the  most  convenient 
instrument  for  applying  the  hot  pitch  and  petroleum. 


70 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 


both  sides  and  ends  of  each  piece,  before  it  is  put  in 
place. 

It  will  be  well,  however,  to  remember  that  timber 
absorbs  moisture,  and  rots  more  readily  at  the  ends  than 
the  sides,  and  care  should  be  taken  to  cover  the  ends, 
and  also  where  the  timbers  are  joined,  with  the  preserv- 
ative. To  persons  not  familiar  with  work  of  this  kind, 
it  may  appear  to  be  an  expensive  job  to  treat  all  of  the. 
lumber  of  a  silo  with  preservatives  in  this  thorough 
manner,  but  an  extended  experience  in  the  use  of  coal 
tar  and  pitch  in  the  construction  of  barns  and  other 
buildings  has  satisfied  me  that  it  pays  to  make  thor- 
ough work  in  their  application  as  preservatives  of  wood- 
work when  it  is  exposed  to  conditions  that  are  favorable 
to  decay.  The  materials  are  not  expensive,  and  the 
extra  labor  involved  is  not  considerable  when  compared 
with  the  advantages  of  a  structure  that  is  not  liable  to 
require  expensive  repairs  in  the  course  of  a  few  years. 

As  a  further  precaution  to  secure  durability  a  founda- 
tion of  masonry  or  concrete  should  be  laid  below  frost,  and 
carried  above  the  surface  high  enough  to  prevent  water 


Fig.  5,  Section  of  bottom  of  silo.    E.  E,  earth;  F,  F,  foundation  walls;  S,  S. 
sills;  H,  H,  studs;  X,  X,  anchors  for  sills;  C,  C,  concrete  floor. 

from  settling  against  the  wood  work.  Two  or  three 
pieces  of  2x4  inch  scantling  one  foot  long  (well  coated 
with  pitch)  may  be  laid  edgewise,  at  intervals,  along  the 
middle  third  of  the  long  side,  and  also  near  the  middle 
of  the  end  walls,  as  shown  at  X,  Fig.  5,  to  serve  as 
anchors  to  the  sills  to  prevent  them  from  spreading. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  71 

The  pressure  of  the  silage  against  the  walls  of  the  silo 
should  of  course  be  taken  into  consideration  in  deciding 
upon  the  size  of  the  studs  required  to  secure  durability. 
From  experiments  made  with  the  dynanometer,  by  Prof. 
E.  M.  Sbelton  at  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College,  the 
lateral  thrust  of  the  silage  in  settling  is  less  than  it  had 
generally  been  assumed  to  be. 

At  a  distance  of  19  and  20  feet  from  the  surface,  the 
pressure  of  the  silage  of  corn  fodder  cut  in  one-half  inch 
lengths,  against  the  side  walls,  was  found  not  to  exceed 
57  Ibs.  per  square  foot.  From  the  data  thus  furnished 
it  will  be  safe  to  use  2x4  inch  studs  for  a  wall  12  feet 
high ;  2x6  inch  studs  for  a  wall  14  feet  high,  and  2x8 
studs  for  a  wall  16  feet  high,  if  they  are  in  each  case 
placed  from  16  to  18  inches  apart,  from  center  to  center, 
and  sheathed  on  the  inside  with  two  thicknesses  of 
inch  boards.  The  sizes  given  are  in  fact  consid- 
erably in  excess  of  what  is  actually  required  to  secure 
stability,  if  reasonable  care  is  exercised  in  other  details 
of  construction. 

The  inside  sheathing  boards  should  be  of  uniform 
width  (10  to  12  inches),  and  surface  dressed  to  secure 
uniformity  in  thickness.  The  sills,  two  inches  thick 
and  of  the  same  width  as  the  studs,  are  laid  on  a  thin 
bed  of  cement  mortar,  and  spiked  to  the  anchor  blocks 
in  the  foundation.  No  framing  or  lapping  of  the  sills 
is  required,  but  where  they  abut  at  the  corners  or  on 
the  sides,  if  the  silo  is  longer  than  a  single  scantling, 
they  are  fastened  together  by  toe-nailing.  When  the 
sills  are  in  place,  set  the  end  studs  (A,  A,  A,  Fig.  6), 
one  at  a  time,  flush  with  the  inside  of  the  sill,  fasten 
the  lower  ends  by  toe-nailing  on  each  side,  and  keep 
them  plumb  by  suitable  stay  laths.  Then  put  on  the 
bottom  board  (X,  Fig.  6,)  of  the  inside  sheathing,  with 
the  lower  edge  resting  on  the  foundation  wall,  and  nail 
it  to  both  sill  and  studs  to  bind  all  strongly  together. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND    SILAGE. 


Then  in  the  same  manner  set  the  studs  of  the  sides 
(  B,  B,  B,  Fig.  6 ),  and  nail  the  bottom  board  II  in  the 
same  way.  The  position  of  the  corner  studs  and  their 
relation  to  the  sheathing  boards  is  clearly  shown  in  Fig. 
6,  the  board  X  being  nailed  to  the  side  of  the  stud  B, 
while  the  board  II  is  nailed  to  the  edge  of  the  same  stud. 
This  simple  plan  of  building  the  corners  gives  ample 
strength  with  the  least  expenditure  of  mater- 
ials and  labor  in  the  construction. 

When  the  first  layer  of  the  inside  sheath- 
ing, marked  X  and  II  (Fig.  6),  is  laid  to 
the  height  of  four  or  five  feet,  begin  again  at 
the  bottom  by  putting  on  a  sheet  of  tarred 
roofing  paper,  lengthwise,  without  lapping, 
but  with  the  edges  in  contact,  to  completely 
cover  the  joints  between  the  boards  already 
laid,  and  upon  this  nail  the  inner  layer  of 
boards  marked  III  and  IV,  Fig.  6.  In  or- 
der to  break  joints  it  will  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  Fig.  5  that  the  first,  or  bottom  board, 
of  one  of  the  layers  must  be  one-half  the 
width  of  the  other  boards,  and  it  is  immater- 
ial in  which  layer  of  the  sheathing  the  nar- 
;"  — \  row  board  is 

placed. 

After    the 
za    first  board  of 

Fig.    6.     Plan  of  silo  showing  construe i  ion  of  comers.  A,      ,,  .          .  -. 

A,   A,  B,  B,  B,  B,  studs;  X,  II,  III,  IV.  inside  sheathing     ' 
boards.    C,  corner  stud  for  outside  sheathing.  sheathing     is 

nailed  on,  it  will  be  well  to  complete  the  frame  by  putting 
on  the  plates.  These  are  two-inch  scantling,  and  like  the 
sills,  of  the  same  width  as  the  studs,  to  the  top  of  which 
they  are  spiked.  The  plates  must  run  entirely  around 
the  walls,  at  the  ends  as  well  as  the  sides.  The  end 
studs  may  be  two  inches  longer  than  the  side  studs,  and 
then  the  plate  on  the  end  will  lap  over  the  side  plate  at 
the  corner,  to  which  it  is  firmly  spiked. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  73 

The  inside  sheathing,  with  its  intermediate  layer  of 
tarred  roofing  paper,  may  now  be  finished,  and  at  the 
top  of  the  wall  it  should  cover  the  edge  of  the  plate  as 
shown  in  Fig.  7.  If  the  silo  is  over  sixteen  feet  long  the 
plate  may  be  doubled  by  spiking  on  another  two-inch 
scantling  that  is  two  inches  wider  than  the  first,  so  that 
it  will  cover  the  top  edge  of  the  inside  sheathing. 

If  the  silo  is  in  the  barn  the  outside  of  the  studs  need 
not  be  covered  with  sheathing;  but  if  it  is  an  indepen- 
dent structure,  the  outside  sheathing  will  form  a  desira- 
ble protection  from  frost  and  driving  storms.  It  may  be 
of  vertical  boards  with  the  joints  battened,  by  toeing 
horizontal  laps  of  2x4  inch  scantling  at  convenient  dis- 
tances between  the  studs,  or,  to  secure  greater  strength, 
the  horizontal  siding  with  rabbeted  edges  may  be  used. 
The  corners  may  be  made  secure  by  nailing  the  siding  to 
a  2x4  inch  stud,  as  shown  at  C,  Fig.  6. 

The  air  spaces  between  the  studs  should  never  be  filled 
with  sawdust  or  other  materials,  but  they  should  be 
closed  in  so  that  they  are  at  least  vermin  proof.  This 
can  be  done  with  a  little  care  in  construction,  and  a 
serious  annoyance  from  rats  and  mice  may  thus  be 
avoided. 

The  plate  for  the  roof  to  rest  on  should  be  at  least 
three  feet  above  the  top  of  the  silo  proper,  to  give  head 
room  in  the  work  of  filling.  This  can  readily  be  done 
by  extending  the  balloon  frame  by  setting  2x4  or  2x6 
inch  studs  three  feet  long  (0,  0,  Fig.  7)  on  the  side 
plates  of  the  silo  (P,  P,  Fig.  7),  and  spiking  the  roof 
plates  (S,  S, )  on  the  top  of  them  for  the  rafters  to  rest 
upon.  The  end  studs  of  this  extension  will  be  nailed  at 
the  top  to  the  rafters.  These  studs  may  be  covered  on 
the  outside  with  siding,  but  the  inside  sheathing  may  be 
dispensed  with. 

If  the  silo  is  considerably  more  than  sixteen  feet  long, 
a  tie  in  the  middle  may  be  desirable  to  prevent  any 


74  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

springing  of  the  side  walls.  For  this  purpose  a  truss  of 
the  form  sketched  in  Fig.  7  (T,  T,  T,  T,  V,  V,  V,  V, 
V)  will  be  less  in  the  way  than  a  tie  beam,  and  quite  as 
efficient.  It  may  be  made  of  two  2x8  or  2x10  scantling, 
T,  T,  T,  T,  nailed  together  at  the  top,  to  which  are 
nailed  inch  boards,  V,  V,  V,  ten  or  twelve  inches  wide, 
as  ties  of  the  truss.  The  ends  of  the  truss  are  toe-nailed 
to  the  plates  P,  P,  and  spiked  to  the  studs  0,  0.  A 


Fig.  7.  Form  of  truss  to  prevent  spreading  of  the  walls,  with  relations  to  roof. 
T,  T,  T,  T,  2x10  scantling;  V,  V,  V,  V,  V,  1x12  boards,  forming  the  truss;  N,  N, 
studs  of  silo  proper;  P,  P,  main  plates;  O,  O,  studs  for  roof;  S,  S,  upper  plates;  R, 
R,  rafters. 

board  on  each  side  may  be  nailed  to  this  truss  and  to  the 
top  of  the  middle  studs  0,  0,  as  a  tie  to  the  upper,  or 
roof  plates  S,  S. 

The  bottom  of  the  silo,  seen  in  outline  section  in  Fig. 
5,  may  be  finished  by  firmly  packing  the  earth,  E,  E, 
and  covering  with  a  few  inches  of  concrete,  C,  C. 

The  concrete  is  not  absolutely  necessary  and  is  often 
omitted  when  the  bottom  is  clay  that  can  be  puddled  and 
packed.  A  pitched  plank  floor  would  have  advantages 
as  a  non-conductor  of  heat,  and  it  can  readily  be  laid 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND    SILAGE. 


75 


water  tight  in  a  thin  bed  of  cement  mortar,  and  spiked 
to  ribs  of  2x4  scantling  bedded  in  the  concrete. 

The  general  plan  of  the  doors  is  indicated  in  the  dia- 
gram, Fig.  8.  The  large  door,  B,  in  the  gable  to  receive 
the  carrier  from  the  cutting  machine  in  filling,  needs  no 
description.  Similar  doors  on  each  side,  above  the  walls 
of  the  silo  proper,  will  be  found  convenient  for  admitting 
light  when  filling  the  silo,  and  at  other  times  as  required. 

They  may  be  hinged  at  the 
top  and  fastened  at  the  bot- 
tom with  a  hook  and  staple. 

The  long  door,  A,  in  the 
wall  of  the  silo,  to  give  access 
to  the  silage  in  feeding  out, 
should  be  wide  enough  to 
admit  a  truck  (in  the  form 
of  an  oblong  box  on  three 
wheels,  two  of  them  under 
one  end  and  one  at  the  other), 
and  it  should  extend  from  the 
sill  to  within  two  and  one 
half  or  three  feet  of  the  top 
of  the  silo. 

This    door    is,    in    effect, 

Fig  8.    Diagram  of  end  elevation,  . 

showing  plan  of  doors.  but  a    section    oi  the  ins  de 

sheathing;  with  its  middle  layer  of  tarred  roofing  paper, 
that  can  be  removed  in  pieces,  but  which,  when  in  place, 
protects  the  silage  as  completely  from  atmospheric  con- 
taminations as  any  other  portion  of  the  walls. 

When  setting  the  studs  for  the  frame,  place  two  of 
the  end  studs  the  proper  distance  apart  to  form  the 
jambs  of  the  doorway.  On  the  outer  side  of  each  spike 
a  2x4  inch  scantling  flush  with  the  inner  edge,  to  form  a 
wide  bearing  for  the  laps  of  the  inside  sheathing,  and  the 
pieces  cut  from  it  to  form  the  door.  When  putting  on  the 
inside  sheathing,  cut  from  each  board  of  the  first  layer, 


76  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

and  opposite  the  doorway,  a  piece  three  inches  longer  thai 
the  distance  between  the  studs  forming  the  door  jambs 
and  number  and  set  them  aside  to  form  part  of  th 
door. 

From  the  inner  layer  of  sheathing  cut  out  in  like  man 
ner  pieces  for  the  door,  but  two  inches  longer  than  wer 
cut  from  the  first  layer.  When  filling  the  silo,  the  doo 
can  be  laid  in  sections,  three  or  four  feet  high  at  a  time 
as  needed,  by  beginning  at  the  bottom  and  putting  eacl 
board  into  the  space  from  which  it  was  cut,  with  hori 
zontal  sheets  of  tarred  roofing  paper  between  the  tw 
layers  of  boards,  to  completely  cover  all  joints  and  mak 
a  practically  airtight  surface. 

As  the  door  boards  are  put  in  they  may  be  held  ii 
place,  until  the  silage  is  banked  against  them,  by  a  smal 
wedge  at  one  end.  When  ready  to  begin  feeding  th 
silage,  the  top  of  the  door  can  be  readily  reached  fror 
the  inside,  and  the  boards  removed  in  sections  and  lai< 
aside,  with  the  roofing  paper,  for  future  use.  As  th 
silage  is  fed  out  additional  boards  can  be  taken  out  unti 
the  bottom  of  the  silo  is  reached.  This  form  of  doo 
will  be  found  convenient  in  feeding  from  the  entire  to 
surface  of  the  silage,  or,  still  better,  if  the  silo  is  longe 
than  broad,  the  feeding  may  be  from  the  end  in  obliqu 
sections,  and  the  covering  will  then  be  removed  from  th 
top  as  required. 

There  is  no  apparent  advantage  to  be  derived  froi 
partitions  in  silos,  and  they  are  objectionable  on  man 
accounts.  If  they  are  made  they  should  be  permanen 
and  made  as  tight  as  the  side  walls. 

Planks  will  spring  if  used  for  partitions,  and  a  studde< 
wall,  sheathed  on  both  sides,  will  alone  be  found  satis 
factory.  A  door  through  the  partition  may  be  made  01 
the  same  plan  as  at  the  end  described  above. 

In  building  a  silo  on  the  plan  here  presented,  skille< 
labor  is  not  required,  as  anyone  who  understands  the  us 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE.  77 

of  the  square  and  saw  can  do  the  work,  if  he  has  clear 
ideas  of  what  he  wishes  to  accomplish  and  works  on  a 
definite  plan.  The  aim  should  be  to  build  a  tight  box, 
or  chamber,  open  at  the  top,  with  double  walls  that  are 
proof  against  vermin,  and  the  whole  made  durable  by  the 
liberal  application  of  the  coal  tar  compounds. 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

FODDER  CHOPS  FOB  ENSILAGE. 

All  green  crops  like  clover,  lucerne,  rye-grass,  etc., 
etc.,  may  be  preserved  in  the  silo,  but  the  American 
cereal,  Indian  corn,  has  many  advantages  in  this  climate 
that  will  undoubtedly  make  it  the  staple  crop  for  ensi- 
lage throughout  the  United  States.  From  the  large 
yield  per  acre  under  favorable  conditions,  and  its  value 
as  cattle  food  when  properly  grown  and  managed,  it  can 
have  no  successful  competitor  as  a  green  forage  crop,  on 
a  large  majority  of  the  farms  in  this  country. 

As  the  principles  involved  in  the  ensilage  of  all  fodder 
crops  are  the  same,  we  will  confine  our  attention  to  the 
ensilage  of  maize,  without  stopping  to  notice  the  details 
of  special  treatment  required  in  the  ensilage  of  crops  of 
subordinate  interest.  Too  often  mistakes  are  made  in 
the  cultivation  of  fodder  corn  which  seriously  detract 
from  its  feeding  value. 

The  conflicting  opinions  expressed  in  the  agricultural 
papers  in  regard  to  the  value  of  fodder  corn  as  feed  for 
cows  giving  milk,  furnish  an  illustration  of  the  import- 
ance of  directing  our  attention  to  methods  of  cultivation, 


78  SILOS,    EKSILAGE   A]STD   SILAGE. 

and  conditions  of  growth,  as  factors  that  may  determine 
its  value  as  cattle  food.  It  has  been  asserted  by  some 
farmers  that  a  diminished  flow  of  milk  followed  the  full 
feeding  of  fodder  corn,  while  others  consistently  claim 
that  it  is  one  of  the  best  feeds  for  dairy  stock.  The 
obvious  explanation  of  these  conflicting  statements  should 
be  of  interest  to  every  farmer. 

THICK   SEEDIXG. 

From  its  peculiar  habits  of  growth  Indian  corn,  as  a 
fodder  crop,  must  vary  in  feeding  quality  with  the  con- 
ditions that  prevail  in  its  cultivation.  When  too  thickly 
planted  the  stalks  are  bleached  and  slender,  and  the 
leaves  are  pale  and  lacking  in  vigor,  and  although  a  con- 
siderable yield  in  gross  weight  may  be  obtained  under 
such  conditions,  water  forms  too  large  a  proportion  of 
the  constituents  of  the  crop,  and  there  is  consequently  a 
corresponding  deficiency  in  nutritive  materials.  The 
general  sickly  habit  of  growth  is  an  indication  of  defec- 
tive nutrition  and  a  suppression  of  the  processes  of 
assimilation. 

Some  of  the  leading  facts  in  vegetable  physiology  have 
a  practical  significance  in  this  connection,  which  should 
not  be  disregarded.  The  green  coloring  matter  of  plants 
(chlorophyll)  is  the  active  and  essential  agent  in  the 
assimilation  of  carbon,  and  the  formation  of  starch,  and 
the  reserve  materials  that  are  stored  up  in  the  body  of 
the  plant.  Carbon,  which  usually  constitutes  about 
one-half  of  the  weight  of  the  dry  substance  of  most 
plants,  is  derived  from  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  atmos- 
phere, and  can  only  be  assimilated  by  the  chloryphyll  in 
the  presence  of  light.  "When  the  amount  of  light  is 
small,  even  these  assimilating  organs  which  contain 
chlorophyll  lose  the  power  of  producing  organic  sub- 
stances out  of  water  and  carbon  dioxide  with  the  assist- 
ance of  other  food  materials." 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  79 

The  effect  of  what  physiologists  call  assimilation  is  to 
increase  the  dry  substance  of  the  plant,  and  conse- 
quently its  feeding  value.  Defective  assimilation,  then, 
means  deficiency  in  dry  substance  and  diminished  value 
as  food.  Indian  corn,  a  semi-tropical  plant,  with  its 
wealth  of  foliage  needs  an  abundance  of  sunlight  and  air 
for  its  vigorous  growth  and  development.  When  crowd- 
ed in  dense  masses,  as  we  see  it  in  thickly  planted  fodder 
corn,  the  upper  leaves  only  receive  sufficient  light  to 
enable  them  to  carry  on  the  active  assimilation  of  carbon, 
while  the  pale  lower  leaves  and  stalks  are  thickly  shaded 
and  unable  to  perform  their  share  of  the  work  in  the 
constructive  processes  of  the  plant. 

The  yellow  leaves  and  delicate,  spindling  stalks,  with- 
out a  rudiment  of  ears,  furnish  conclusive  evidence  that 
the  plants  are  suffering  from  inanition,  and  that  insuf- 
ficient supplies  of  nutritive  materials,  in  proper  form 
and  under  proper  conditions,  have  been  provided  for 
their  perfect  development  and  maturity. 

Dr.  E.  H:  Jenkins,  in  a  table  on  the  "Composition  of 
American  Feeding  Stuffs,"  *  gives  the  results  of  seventy- 
five  American  analyses  of  maize  fodder,  the  dry  matter 
of  which  varies  from  7.1  to  48.5  per  cent ;  and  in  fifty- 
nine  analyses  of  maize  fodder  ensilaged,  the  dry  substance 
ranges  from  13.0  to  35.6  per  cent. 

As  these  differences  evidently  exceed  any  reasonable 
margin  of  error  in  analysis,  they  must  be  attributed  to 
differences  in  varieties ;  to  the  stage  of  maturity  at  time 
of  harvest ;  or,  to  methods  of  cultivation ;  but  unfortu- 
nately we  have  not  the  data  for  determining  the  influence 
of  each  of  these  factors  on  the  results  obtained. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  fodder  corn  varies  widely 
in  the  amount  of  dry  substance  it  contains,  and  that 
silage  must  vary  in  value  with  the  quality  of  the  crops 
ensilaged,  so  that  no  definite  statements  can  be  predi* 

*  Connecticut  Agr'l  Ex.  St.  Rep't  1880,  p.  40. 


80  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND  SILAGE. 

cated  in  regard  to  average  nutritive  values.  Some  of  the 
objections  to  the  thick  seeding  of  fodder  corn  have 
apparently  been  observed  by  farmers,  as  instead  of  the 
one,  two  or  three  bushels  of  seed  per  acre  of  a  few  years 
ago,  we  now  oftener  see  recommendations  of  the  more 
consistent  and  rational  quantities  of  but  eight  to  ten 
quarts,  per  acre.  This  is  progress  in  the  right  direction 
and  in  harmony  with  the  well-known  laws  of  vegetable 
nutrition  and  growth. 

As  seen  from  the  published  analysis  quoted  above,  the 
amount  of  water  in  fodder  corn  is  liable  to  wide  varia- 
tions, and  in  all  experiments  with  maize  as  a  field  crop, 
the  amount  of  dry  substance  obtained  per  acre,  in 
connection  with  the  variety  and  quantity  of  the  seed 
planted,  and  the  conditions  under  which  the  crop  is 
raised,  should  be  clearly  and  fully  stated,  as  they  are 
matters  of  the  first  importance  in  the  interpretation  of 
results.  In  a  succulent,  large-stalked  plant,  like  maize, 
a  statement  of  gross  weights  only  may  be  misleading  in 
discussing  nutritive  values. 

When  immature  fodder  corn  is  ensilaged,  whether  from 
thick  seeding  or  premature  harvesting,  the  excess  of 
water  it  contains  is  a  real  source  of  annoyance  and  prob- 
able loss.  From  the  weight  of  the  superincumbent  mass 
the  juice  is  pressed  out  of  the  silage  in  the  lower  half  of 
the  silo,  and  there  is  towards  the  bottom  an  accumula- 
tion of  liquid  containing  more  or  less  of  the  food 
constituents  of  the  silage,  which  cannot  be  disposed  of  to 
advantage. 

In  a  number  of  cases  of  this  kind,  to  which  my  atten- 
tion has  been  called,  the  accumulation  of  liquids  in  the 
bottom  of  the  silo  has  been  attributed  to  the  soaking  in 
of  water  from  the  outside,  and  the  real  cause  of  the  dif- 
ficulty was  not  suspected.  The  crops  ensilaged  should 
contain  no  more  water  than  can  be  retained  in  the  cells 
of  the  plant  under  the  conditions  in  which  they  are 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE.  81 

placed,  and  this  means  that  a  certain  stage  of  maturity 
should  be  reached  before  the  crop  is  harvested.  It  is 
true  that  immature  fodder  corn  may  be  partly  dried  in 
the  field  after  it  is  cut  up,  before  putting  it  into  the  silo, 
bub  this  obviates  but  part  of  the  difficulty ;  the  deficiency 
in  dry  substance  still  remains.  The  excess  of  water  in 
the  immature  plant  is  exhaled  from  the  leaves  in  the 
process  of  maturation  as  the  chlorophyll  of  the  leaves 
assimilates  carbon,  and  reserve  materials,  like  starch  and 
its  allies,  are  stored  up  to  increase  the  percentage  of  dry 
substance.  Nature's  method  of  drying  immature  suc- 
culent vegetation  will  be  found  the  most  profitable,  and 
we  need  only  aid  her  by  furnishing  suitable  conditions 
for  the  performance  of  her  work. 

The  reported  yields  of  fodder  corn,  under  good  man- 
agement, vary  from  about  15  to  30  tons  per  acre,  and  if 
yields  of  less  than  ten  tons  are  mentioned,  some  excuse 
is  presented  of  unfavorable  conditions  for  the  crop,  or, 
the  effects  of  a  bad  season.  Claims  of  40  to  50  tons  per 
acre  are  frequently  made,  and  yields  of  even  80  to  90 
tons  have  been  reported,  but  these  exceptional  yields  are 
evidently  enthusiastic  estimates  that  need  verification. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Indian  corn  will  yield  a 
greater  aggregate  of  valuable  cattle-food  per  acre,  under 
good  conditions  of  farm  management,  than  any  other 
crop,  and  exaggerated  claims  are  not  needed  to  lead  to  its 
general  recognition  as  the  King  of  the  cereals. 

VARIETIES   OF   MAIZE   FOR   ENSILAGE. 

A  great  number  of  varieties  of  maize  have  been  recom- 
mended as  the  best  for  a  fodder  crop,  but  allowance  must 
be  made,  in  many  cases,  for  a  bias  of  judgment,  where 
the  sale  of  seed  is  the  object. 

From  the  wide  geographical  range  of  the  crop  in 
America,  and  the  different  climatic  conditions  under 
which  it  is  successfully  cultivated,  it  will  be  seen  that 


82  SILOS,   ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

the  best  variety  in  one  locality  may  not  succeed  in  a  large 
proportion  of  cases  in  other  localities.  It  has  been  the 
fashion  to  grow  Southern  varieties  at  the  North  for  fod- 
der corn,  from  the  imposing  appearance  of  the  crop,  and 
the  large  gross  weights,  in  yield,  that  are  obtained. 

To  what  extent  this  practice  is  desirable  we  have  not 
as  yet  the  data  to  determine,  as  quality  is  quite  as 
important  as  quantity,  and  the  real  value  of  the  crop  will 
largely  depend  on  the  amount  of  dry  substance  obtained 
on  a  given  area,  and  the  labor  required  in  its  production 
and  management. 

Any  increase  in  the  gross  weight  of  the  crop  that  arises 
from  a  larger  proportion  of  water,  without  any  marked 
increase  of  dry  substance,  adds  to  the  cost  of  labor  in 
harvesting  and  storing  it,  without  any  real  compensating 
advantages.  Among  the  varieties  frequently  mentioned 
in  the  current  agricultural  papers,  Southern  white  and 
yellow  dent ;  Southern  sweet ;  and  the  B.  and  W.  have 
perhaps  been  the  most  popular,  and  in  many  localities, 
it  is  possible  that  either  one  of  them  may  be  better,  on 
the  whole,  than  some  of  the  smaller  sorts,  but  it  will  not 
be  safe  to  urge  their  exclusive  use  throughout  the  range 
in  which  fodder  corn  may  be  profitably  raised. 

Some  general  propositions  may  be  of  assistance  in 
making  a  choice  of  a  variety  for  fodder  corn.  In  the 
first  place  it  will  be  generally  admitted  that  it  should  be 
so  well  adapted  to  the  locality  that  it  will  be  likely  to 
mature  before  it  is  threatened  with  early  frosts.  In 
the  absence  of  other  defects,  an  exuberant  leafy  growth 
with  stalks  of  small  or  medium  size  may  be  desirable.  A 
variety  that  is  prolific  in  grain  formation  may  likewise 
have  advantages  in  feeding  quality.  At  the  extreme 
North,  the  medium,  or  smaller  varieties  will,  undoubt- 
edly, give  better  results,  on  the  whole,  than  the  larger 
Southern  varieties  that  require  a  long  season  to  mature. 

It  seems  to  be  generally  admitted    that  the  sweet 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  83 

varieties  have  no  marked  advantages,  as  the  yield  is 
usually  less  than  that  of  other  sorts,  and  there  is  no 
evidence  that  they  have  a  decidedly  higher  nutritive 
value.  The  system  of  cultivation  practiced  is  probably 
of  greater  importance,  in  most  cases,  than  the  selection 
of  the  variety  to  be  grown,  provided  it  is  adapted  to  the 
locality. 

Fodder  corn  should  never  be  sowed  broadcast,  but 
planted  in  drills,  or  hills,  at  such  a  distance  apart  as 
will  admit  of  convenient  cultivation. 

The  soil  should  be  in  high  condition  and  carefully 
prepared  for  seeding.  The  smoothing  harrow  may  be 
profitably  used,  to  check  the  growth  of  weeds,  until  the 
plants  are  several  inches  high,  and  thorough  after-culti- 
vation should  follow.  As  to  the  distance  between  the 
rows,  no  definite  rule  can  be  prescribed,  as  the  larger 
varieties  require  more  room  than  the  smaller  sorts,  but 
all  need  nearly  as  much  space  as  when  grown  as  a  field 
crop  with  grain  as  the  leading  object.  One  of  the  most 
satisfactory  crops  I  have  raised  was  of  medium  Western 
dent  corn,  in  drills  four  feet  apart,  and  yielding,  in  gross 
weight,  but  twenty  tons  per  acre,  but  this  included 
eighty  bushels  of  well  matured  shelled  corn  that  gave 
the  crop  a  high  feeding  value. 

It  appears  to  me  to  be  decidedly  the  best  practice  to 
plant  corn  for  a  fodder  crop,  and  for  ensilage,  so  that  it 
will  have  abundant  room  and  light  for  the  vigorous 
growth  of  the  lower  leaves  and  the  development  and 
approximate  maturity  of  the  ears.  The  ensilage  of  such 
a  crop,  under  proper  conditions,  cannot  fail  to  give  satis- 
faction as  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  feed  obtained 
from  a  given  area. 

The  importance  of  maturity,  or  a  close  approximation 
to  maturity,  in  the  plants  fed  to  animals,  will  be  best 
seen  by  some  practical  applications  of  the  principles  of 
physiological  science  to  the  intimate  relations  of  plant 


84  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND  SILAGE. 

and  animal  life.  From  the  farmer's  standpoint  his  field 
crops  may  be  looked  upon  as  machines  for  making  food 
for  animals  from  inorganic  materials  which  the  animals 
could  not  otherwise  make  use  of  in  their  nutritive  pro- 
cesses. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  largest  possible  returns  from 
these  living  plant  machines,  they  must  be  made  to  work 
to  their  full  capacity,  under  conditions  that  are  the  most 
favorable  for  the  exercise  of  their  special  endowments. 
They  must  have  an  abundant  supply  of  the  raw  materials 
required  in  making  organic  substances,  and  of  energy,  in 
the  form  of  light,  and  heat  from  the  sun,  to  be  expended 
in  the  work  of  construction  they  have  to  perform.  Any 
deficiency  in  either  of  these  essentials  (inorganic  raw 
materials,  and  energy)  must  detract  from  their  efficiency 
as  machines  in  the  work  they  have  to  do. 

The  resulting  products  of  these  plant  machines,  which 
we  call  organic  substances,  as  starch,  sugar,  fat,  proteids, 
etc.,  are  not  only  food  for  animals  in  the  sense  that  they 
furnish  materials  for  building  animal  tissues,  but,  what 
is  quite  as  important,  they  are  also  stores  of  potential 
energy  that  is  liberated  and  made  active  in  doing  work  in 
the  constructive  processes  of  the  animal  economy. 

One  of  the  indications  that  these  plant  machines  have 
performed  the  full  measure  of  useful  work  they  are  capa- 
ble of  doing,  is  the  store  of  reserve  materials  provided  for 
future  seed  formation,  as  in  the  bulbs  of  our  root  crops, 
or  the  actual  formation  of  seeds,  as  in  the  cereals,  to 
provide  for  the  future  reproduction  of  similar  machines. 
In  other  words,  seed  formation,  or  provisions  for  seed  for- 
mation, marks  the  summit  or  limits  of  the  profitable 
work  which  plants  can  do  in  the  manufacture  of  food  for 
animals ;  and  the  farmer  will  find  his  interests  are  best 
subserved  by  keeping  up,  or  allowing  these  activities  to 
continue,  until  the  limit  is  at  least  nearly  reached.  Im- 
maturity in  plants,  therefore,  implies  unfinished,  imper- 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   A^D   SILAGE.  85 

feet  work  in  the  construction  of  organic  substances,  and 
in  the  storing  up  of  energy,  and  a  corresponding 
deficiency  in  the  supplies  of  nutritive  materials  furnished 
for  the  food  of  animals. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FILLING  THE   SILO. 

When  the  crop  has  reached  the  proper  stage  of  matu- 
rity for  harvesting,  the  work  of  filling  the  silo  may 
begin.  As  green  fodder  is  heavy  to  handle,  strict  econ- 
omy should  be  practiced  in  the  labor  expended  in 
harvesting  the  crop  and  filling  the  silo,  to  reduce  the 
cost  of  the  silage  to  a  minimum.  Eeaping  machines 
have  been  successfully  used  in  harvesting,  and  it  is 
claimed  that  they  can  be  made  to  do  the  work  well,  by 
cutting  but  one  row  at  a  time,  even  when  the  crop  is  a 
heavy  one.  Taking  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  machine 
into  account,  and  especially  with  the  larger  varieties  of 
fodder  corn,  cutting  by  hand  will,  perhaps,  be  found 
quite  as  economical  in  the  long  run,  particularly  if  the 
crop  is  a  reasonably  heavy  one.  In  hauling  from  the 
field  to  the  silo,  two  or  three  wagons,  and  one  or  two 
teams,  according  to  the  distance  of  the  haul,  will  be 
-found  convenient,  but  no  arbitrary  rule  can  be  laid  down 
in  regard  to  the  details  of  such  work,  on  account  of 
differences  in  the  conditions,  in  each  particular  case,  and 
the  farmer  must  plan  the  work  for  himself  to  make  every 
step  count  as  far  as  possible. 


86  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

The  wilting,  and  partial  drying,  or  curing  of  the 
fodder,  in  the  field  before  hauling  to  the  silo,  is  fre- 
quently recommended.  As  a  saving  in  the  weight  of  the 
fodder  in  the  subsequent  handling,  this  may  be  a  decided 
advantage,  but  the  utilities  of  the  practice  must  depend 
largely  on  the  condition  of  the  crop  as  to  maturity,  and 
the  amount  of  water  it  contains,  and  it  will  hardly  be 
safe  to  formulate  any  definite  method  of  procedure, 
where  good  judgment  is  required  in  deciding  upon  the 
best  course  under  the  special  conditions  presented  in 
each  case.  The  fact  that  the  fodder  is  not  necessarily 
injured  by  leaving  it  in  the  field,  in  bunches  as  cut  up, 
for  a  short  time,  or  even  several  days  in  favorable 
weather,  is,  however,  of  some  practical  importance,  as 
considerable  latitude  may  be  admissible  in  economizing 
labor,  in  adjusting  the  relations  of  the  cutting  and  haul- 
ing gangs  of  workmen. 

The  fodder  may  be  preserved  by  packing  it  in  the  silo 
as  it  comes  from  the  field,  but  the  practice  is  not  to  be 
recommended,  as  the  whole  stalks  are  not  conveniently 
handled,  or  packed,  in  the  silo.  It  will  be  far  better  to 
cut  the  fodder  in  about  half-inch  lengths  with  a  suitable 
machine,  rigged  with  a  carrier  to  deliver  the  cut  fodder 
over  the  top  of  the  silo.  On  the  whole,  this  will  be 
found  a  labor-saving  operation,  and,  moreover,  the  cut 
fodder  will  pack  to  better  advantage  in  completely 
filling  the  silo,  and  it  is  also  more  conveniently  fed  out. 
The  fodder  cutter  should  be  sufficiently  strong  to  cut  the 
large  stalks  with  their  attached  ears  without  danger  of 
getting  out  of  repair,  and  the  carrier  should  deliver  the 
cut  fodder,  as  near  as  may  be,  at  the  top  and  middle  of 
the  silo. 

Some  differences  of  opinion  have  been  expressed  as  to 
the  length  of  cut  that  is  most  desirable,  but  in  a  large 
proportion  of  cases,  the  range  of  variation  reported  is 
from  three-eighths  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch,  and 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  87 

very  few  longer  cuts  are  mentioned.  The  size  of  the 
stalks  may  be  taken  into  account  in  deciding  upon  the 
length  of  cut  it  will  be  desirable  to  make.  With  small 
stalks  a  longer  cut  may  be  admissible,  but  there  appears 
to  be  no  good  reason  for  making  a  shorter  cut  than  one- 
half  inch,  under  any  conditions.  It  is  perhaps  not 
necessary  to  cut  the  fodder  for  ensilage  as  short  as  may 
be  advisable  with  dry  fodder. 

Until  within  a  few  years  past  there  has  been  a  prevail- 
ing notion  that  a  silo  must  be  rapidly  filled,  in  a  single 
day  if  possible,  and  that  a  large  expenditure  of  labor  was 
required  in  treading  and  packing  the  fodder  as  it  was 
put  in,  and  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  even  horses 
and  mules  have  been  used  to  tramp  down  the  fodder  as 
the  silo  was  being  filled.  The  next  assumed  element  of 
success  was  to  put  on  a  tight  cover  of  planks  as  soon  as 
the  silo  was  full,  and  load  it  with  heavy  weights  at  the 
rate  of  from  100  to  200  or  more  pounds  per  square  foot. 

A  better  system  now  prevails,  and  these  expensive 
details  which  were  believed  to  be  of  paramount  import- 
ance in  the  ensilage  of  green  fodder,  are  known  to  be 
useless  expenditures  of  labor. 

Several  years  ago,  after  making  a  series  of  experiments 
on  the  thermal  death-point  *  of  the  bacteria  of  fermenta- 
tion, I  ventured  to  make  the  suggestion  that  the  rapid 
filling  and  packing  of  the  silo  was  unnecessary,  and  that 
with  slow  filling,  without  treading  down  the  fodder,  the 
temperature  of  the  mass  would  rise  to  a  point  that  is 
fatal  to  the  bacteria  that  cause  the  acid  fermentations, 
and  that  " sweet  ensilage"  might  thus  be  made.  These 
statements  were  made  in  lectures  at  several  different 
places,  and  I  was  informed  by  a  number  of  persons,  that 
they  could  now  understand  the  results  of  their  experience 
the  preceding  year,  as  they  had  unintentionally  made 
sweet  ensilage  of  superior  quality,  as  the  result  of  acci- 

*  For  the  relations  of  temperature  to  the  activities  of  bacteria  see  pp.  60-61. 


88  SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AND   SILAGE. 

dental  and  unavoidable  delays,  of  several  days,  in  the 
filling  of  their  silos,  so  that  the  silage  became  "  quite 
hot"  before  it  was  covered  and  weighted.  Their  fears 
that  the  silage  was  entirely  spoiled  were  not  realized,  as 
it  proved  to  be  the  best  they  had  ever  made.  Soon  after- 
wards I  learned  that  Mr.  George  Fry,  Chobham,  England, 
had  made  sweet  ensilage  by  the  process  of  slow  filling, 
when  the  temperature  in  the  silo  exceeded  122°.  In  the 
ensilage  of  clover  and  rye-grass,  he  observed  temperatures 
of  135°  to  158°. 

On  the  publication  of  these  suggestions,  with  the  cor- 
roborative evidence  I  had  collected  in  regard  to  the 
practicability  of  the  method,  I  was  assailed  on  all  sides, 
in  the  agricultural  papers  of  the  day,  and  many  theoreti- 
cal objections  were  urged  that  were  assumed  to  conclu- 
sively disprove  the  data  on  which  this  new  departure  in 
ensilage  was  founded.  At  the  present  time,  however,  my 
method  of  filling  the  silo,  to  avoid  objectionable  acidity, 
has  been  quite  generally  adopted,  and  the  favorable 
reports  received  in  regard  to  the  practice,  are  the  best 
answer  to  former  criticisms. 

Quite  recently  it  has  been  discovered  that  the  weights, 
and  even  the  tight  plank  covers  that  were  formerly  con- 
sidered of  prime  importance,  can  be  dispensed  with  to 
advantage.  In  a  recent  communication  from  Mr.  John 
Gould  of  Ohio,  who  has  made  extended  observations 
among  the  silos  at  the  West,  he  informs  me  that  weights 
are  now  seldom  used,  and  that  but  about  one-half  of  the 
silos  are  covered  with  boards  or  planks,  and  that  the 
number  of  these  is  rapidly  diminishing.  Tarred  roofing 
paper  covered  with  a  layer  of  straw  or  coarse  hay  from 
twelve  to  sixteen  inches  in  depth  is  frequently  the  only 
protection  to  the  top  of  the  silo,  while  many  omit  the 
paper  altogether  and  only  rely  upon  the  simple  covering 
of  straw  or  marsh  hay,  which,  they  claim,  from  their 
experience,  is  quite  as  efficient  in  protecting  and  preserv- 
ing the  silage  as  the  more  expensive  methods. 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AKD   SILAGE.  89 

In  the  evolution  of  the  silo,  and  the  practice  of  ensi- 
lage, remarkable  progress  has  been  made,  and  the  evident 
tendency  is  towards  simplicity  in  all  directions,  and  a 
consequent  saving  of  labor,  which  of  course  diminishes 
the  cost  of  silage. 

The  filling  of  the  silo  is  no  longer  a  task  that  must  be 
hurried  to  completion  in  one  or  two  days,  at  any  cost, 
and  at  the  sacrifice  of  all  other  interests,  but  it  comes  in 
as  part  of  the  regular  routine  of  farm  work,  and  requires 
no  extraordinary  addition  to  the  usual  working  force  of 
the  farm. 

The  usual  practice,  in  filling  the  silo  to  avoid  acid 
fermentation,  is  to  put  in  but  two  and  one-half  or  three 
feet  in  depth  of  the  fodder  in  a  single  day,  and  this  is 
allowed  to  heat  until  a  temperature  of  about  125°  is 
secured.  Another  similar  layer  is  then  added  and  left 
to  heat  in  the  same  manner,  and  this  process  is  repeated 
until  the  silo  is  full.  From  one  to  three  days,  or  even 
more,  may  intervene  between  the  filling  in  of  any  two 
contiguous  layers,  according  to  the  condition  of  the 
fodder  and  the  progress  of  the  heating  process.  Each 
layer  is  carefully  packed  at  the  edges  and  corners  to 
completely  fill  all  of  the  space,  but  any  tramping  beyond 
what  is  required  for  this  purpose  is  avoided. 

When  there  are  two  or  more  silos,  the  filling  may 
alternate  from  one  to  the  other,  a  layer  of  fodder  being 
put  into  one  while  the  others  are  -heating,  and  with  a 
single  long  silo,  without  a  partition,  the  two  ends  may 
be  treated  as  separate  silos  and  alternately  filled  in  the 
same  way. 

As  the  heat  developed  in  the  silage  may  be  lost  by 
conduction  and  radiation,  it  is  found  that  a  temperature 
of  from  122°  to  125°  is  not  as  readily  obtained  at  the 
bottom  and  corners  of  the  silo,  and  along  the  walls, 
especially  if  they  are  of  masonry  or  concrete. 

This  difficulty  is  obviated,  to  some  extent,  by  care  in 


90  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

the  management  of  the  fodder  as  the  silo  is  filled.  The 
fodder  put  in  the  first  day  is  not  leveled  at  once,  but 
allowed  to  remain  in  a  loose  pile  in  the  middle  of  the 
silo  until  it  is  well  heated  and  the  fodder  for  the  next 
layer  is  ready  to  put  in.  The  hot  silage  is  then  leveled 
and  packed  at  the  corners  and  immediately  covered  with 
the  fresh  fodder  of  the  next  layer.  With  a  similar  pur- 
pose in  view,  the  last  load  or  two  of  the  fodder  of  each 
layer  is  left  in  a  pile  in  the  middle  of  the  silo  to  heat 
until  ready  to  fill  in  the  next  layer.  In  this  way  hot 
silage  is  provided  in  the  middle  of  the  silo,  to  fill  the 
corners  where  the  heat  is  likely  to  be  deficient.  When 
the  silo  is  full  the  last  layer  is  treated  in  the  same  way, 
and  when  the  desired  temperature  is  developed  the  sur- 
face is  leveled  and  a  cover  of  tarred  paper  and  cut  straw 
or  coarse  hay,  as  described  above,  is  finally  added.  This 
cover  should  be  well  packed  at  the  sides  and  corners, 
and  a  few  loose  boards  may  be  laid  on,  to  keep  it  in 
place. 

This  simple  method  of  covering  was  naturally  sug- 
gested by  the  well-known  fact  that  a  few  inches  in  depth 
of  the  surface  of  the  silage  was  often  moldy  and  spoiled, 
and  the  obvious  remedy  for  this  difficulty  was  the  addi- 
tion of  a  stratum  of  straw  or  other  coarse  materials  for 
the  molds  to  grow  on,  and  thus  protect  the  layer  of 
silage  beneath  from  their  action.  This  covering  of 
straw  is  soon  saturated  with  moisture  from  the  heated 
mass  under  it,  and  is  thus  made  more  compact  and 
impervious  to  atmospheric  influences. 

Aside  from  the  check  given  to  the  acid  ferments,  the 
slow  method  of  filling  the  silo  has  advantages  which 
commend  it  to  popular  favor.  The  work  can  be  carried 
on  leisurely  and  economically  with  the  ordinary  farm 
force,  and  the  entire  storage  capacity  of  the  silo  can  be 
utilized.  Under  the  old  method  of  rapid  filling,  thor- 
ough packing  and  heavy  weights,  the  space  left  at  the 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  91 

top  of  the  silo  from  the  settling  of  the  silage  could  not 
be  filled  with  fresh  fodder  without  taking  off,  and  replac- 
ing, the  heavily  weighted  cover,  which  involved  a  con- 
siderable expenditure  of  labor.  In  the  improved  method 
of  filling,  the  settling  of  the  silage,  favored  by  the  high 
temperature,  goes  on  gradually  and  continuously,  as  the 
fodder  is  put  in,  and  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  succes- 
sive additions  of  fresh  fodder  until  the  silo  is  completely 
filled. 

It  will  be  seen  that  all  details  of  the  slow  filling  pro- 
cess are  managed  to  favor  the  development  of  a  tempera- 
ture of  at  least  122°  in  all  parts  of  the  silo,  to  keep  in 
check,  or  diminish,  the  activity  of  the  bacteria  of  the 
acid  fermentations. 

The  cause  of  the  temperature  developed  in  the  silage 
has  not  been  definitely  ascertained,  but  from  the  facts 
presented  in  the  chapter  on  Fermentation,  it  may,  with 
apparent  good  reasons,  be  attributed  to  the  normal 
activities  of  the  living  plant  cells  in  the  maturation  of 
their  contents.  There  is,  at  least,  no  evidence  that  it  is 
caused  by  a  true  fermentation,  or  by  any  direct  process 
of  oxidation.  There  is,  likewise,  no  evidence  to  warrant 
the  assumption  that  the  high  temperature  involves  a 
direct  loss  of  nutritive  materials,  as  it  is  well  known 
that  heat  is  evolved  in  the  normal  metabolism  of  plant 
cells  in  the  elaboration  of  organic  substances.  That  the 
metabolism  of  the  cells  of  maize  goes  on  after  the  plant 
is  cut  up,  is  shown  in  the  maturation  of  the  grain  in  the 
ear  while  attached  to  the  stalks  that  are  cut  up  before 
the  ears  are  glazed,  and  we  cannot  doubt  that  heat  is 
liberated  in  this  process.  This  metabolism  of  the  cells 
must  continue,  in  the  presence  of  sufficient  moisture,  as 
long  as  they  retain  their  vitality. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  chemical  changes  taking 
place  in  the  ensilage  of  green  fodder  have  not,  as  yet, 
been  determined,  and  we  have  much  to  learn  in  regard 


92  SILOS,    ENSILAGE   AND   SILAGE. 

to  the  real  transformations  of  matter  and  energy  in  volved 
in  the  process,  under  different  conditions.  In  investiga- 
tions relating  to  the  chemistry  of  the  silo,  the  biological 
factors  concerned  in  the  metamorphoses  of  matter  and 
energy  cannot  be  ignored,  and  any  generalizations  that 
are  based  on  inferences  from  Liebig's  obsolete  theories  of 
fermentation  can  only  mislead,  by  obscuring  the  funda- 
mental elements  of  the  problems  it  is  proposed  to  solve. 
The  uniformly  favorable  reports  that  have  been  made  by 
those  who  have  tried  the  new  method  of  filling  the  silo, 
both  as  to  the  quality  of  the  silage  and  the  certainty  and 
uniformity  of  the  results  obtained,  show  that  the  process 
has  merits  that  are  recognized  by  practical  men  as  a 
decided  improvement  on  former  methods. 

It  has  been  proposed  to  revive  the  practice  of  M. 
Keihlen,  of  harvesting  the  ears  of  corn  when  the  crop 
is  sufficiently  matured,  and  let  them  cure  in  the  husks, 
while  the  fodder  is  ensilaged  by  itself.  There  may  be 
advantages  in  particular  cases  that  might  justify  the 
expenditure  of  the  additional  labor  required  in  this  plan, 
but  as  a  rule  it  will  probably  be  better  economy  to  run 
the  stalks  and  ears  together  through  the  feed  cutter  and 
ensilage  the  crop  as  a  whole. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ENSILAGE  AND   FAKM    ECONOMY, 

The  advantages  that  may  be  derived  from  the  ensilage 
of  green  fodder  have,  undoubtedly,  been  exaggerated  by 
its  enthusiastic  advocates,  and  on  the  other  hand,  the 


SILOS,    ENSILAGE  AJSLD   SILAGE.  93 

opponents  of  the  practice  have  failed  to  recognize  its 
intrinsic  merits  in  their  efforts  to  show  that  it  involves 
needless  expense  and  a  loss  of  nutritive  materials. 

Notwithstanding  the  reaction  from  over-estimates  of 
its  value,  and  the  many  objections  that  have  been  urged 
against  it,  the  ensilage  of  fodder  corn  is  rapidly  extend- 
ing, and  as  the  economies  of  the  system  come  to  be  bet- 
ter appreciated,  the  indications  are  that  it  will  be  quite 
generally  adopted  on  farms  where  the  feeding  of  live 
stock  is  made  a  prominent  interest. 

The  silo  cannot  be  looked  upon  as  the  only  essential 
element  of  success  in  farm  practice,  or  as  an  inexhaust- 
ible mine  of  wealth  that  may  be  drawn  upon  at  pleasure, 
without  an  equivalent  rendered.  The  farmer  can  only 
take  from  it  the  food  constituents  he  has  put  in,  and 
the  benefits  he  may  derive  from  the  ensilage  of  the  fod- 
der will  largely  depend  on  other  considerations  than  the 
one  of  mere  nutritive  values.  Experiments  have  been 
made  to  test  the  relative  feeding  value  of  dry  fodder 
corn  and  the  same  fodder  ensilaged,  with  results  that 
are  not  decisive,  as  the  problem  is  an  exceedingly  com- 
plex one  that  cannot  be  solved  by  a  few  simple  tests 
with  a  small  number  of  animals.  Such  investigations 
have  a  theoretical  interest,  and  should  be  encouraged, 
but  from  the  very  limits  of  their  scope  they  cannot  set- 
tle the  practical  economy  of  ensilaged  fodder.  The 
form  in  which  a  given  food  is  supplied  to  animals,  and 
even  its  palatableness,  may  have  a  more  decided  influ- 
ence in  determining  its  nutritive  value,  than  slight  dif- 
ferences in  chemical  composition.  The  same  food  may 
give  different  results  when  fed  to  different  animals,  and 
the  benefit  derived  from  it  by  the  same  animal  may  vary 
widely  at  different  times,  so  that  extreme  caution  should 
be  exercised  in  interpreting  the  results  of  feeding  exper- 
iments, and  in  the  generalizations  based  upon  them. 

From  a  chemical  point  of  view,  there  is,  beyond  ques- 


94  SILOS,   ENSILAGE  AKD   SILAGE. 

tion,  a  loss  of  nutritive  materials  in  curing  corn  fodder 
by  the  ordinary  process  of  drying,  and  there  is  also  a 
similar  loss  in  the  ensilage  of  the  same  fodder,  but  the 
differences  in  these  losses  are  comparatively  unimport- 
ant in  deciding  upon  the  relative  practical  economy  of 
the  two  methods. 

The  demand  for  a  supply  of  succulent  food  in  the  sys- 
tem of  feeding,  the  labor  involved  in  harvesting,  storing 
and  feeding  out  of  the  crop,  and  the  waste  of  the  fodder 
in  feeding  under  ordinary  conditions  of  management, 
must  all  be  taken  into  the  account  in  striking  a  balance 
to  determine  the  best  paying  method. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  jsome  form  of  succulent 
food  is  a  desirable  addition  to  the  ordinary  winter  rations 
of  live  stock,  and  the  question  arises  as  to  the  best  and 
cheapest  method  of  providing  it.  The  English  farmer 
looks  upon  his  root  crop  as  an  indispensable  adjunct  of 
his  food  supply  for  farm  stock,  but  in  this  country,  for 
many  reasons  that  need  not  be  stated,  the  raising  of  root 
crops  will  not,  in  all  probability,  be  extensively  prac- 
ticed. The  steaming  of  feed  of  all  kinds  has  been  urged 
as  the  true  solution  of  the  problem,  but  this  method 
has  failed  to  gain  the  approval  of  a  large  majority  of 
farmers,  and  where  it  has  been  tried  on  a  considerable 
scale,  it  is  apparently  on  the  decline. 

The  ensilage  of  fodder  corn  has  been  found  a  conven- 
ient and  economical  method  of  providing  a  supply  of 
succulent  food  during  the  winter  months,  or  in  seasons 
of  drought,  and  when  properly  conducted,  as  a  part  of 
a  consistent  system  of  farm  management,  it  has  given 
the  most  satisfactory  results,  and,  in  American  farm 
practice,  at  least,  it  must  almost  entirely  supersede  the 
raising  of  root  crops,  or  the  steaming  of  fodder.  Maize, 
from  its  many  valuable  qualities,  is  conceded  to  be  the 
most  important  farm  crop  in  the  United  States,  and  its 
preservation  in  the  form  of  green  winter  food  will  tend 


SILOS,    EKSILAGE   AND   SILAGE.  95 

to  add  to  the  deservedly  high  estimation  in  which  it  is 
held  as  the  main  stay  of  American  agriculture. 

The  necessary  expense  involved  in  the  ensilage  of  fod- 
der corn  has  been  very  much  overrated  by  those  who 
have  not  made  a  trial  of  it.  With  the  comparatively 
cheap  silos  of  wood,  and  discarding  the  heavy  weights 
that  were  formerly  used,  it  is  believed  that  fodder  corn 
can  be  put  in  the  silo,  and  finally  fed  out,  at  less  expense 
than  it  can  be  cured  in  stooks  in  the  field,  hauled  to  the 
barn  and  run  through  the  feed  cutter,  and  fed  to  ani- 
mals, and  in  the  winter  management  of  stock  the  ensi- 
laged fodder  has  the  advantage  of  convenience,  and 
decidedly  less  waste  in  feeding.  Hon.  Hiram  Smith  of 
Wisconsin  makes  the  statement  that,  by  actual  trial,  he 
found  that  a  load  of  fodder  corn  could  be  run  through  the 
feed  cutter,  elevated  more  than  twenty  feet,  and  depos- 
ited" in  the  silo,  in  seven  to  eight  minutes'  less  time  than 
was  required  to  set  it  up  in  stooks  in  the  field. 

There  is,  however,  another  consideration  that  must 
have  weight  in  estimating  the  economy  of  the  silo. 
Fodder  corn  is  rapidly  growing  in  popular  favor  for 
summer  feed,  and  it  would  be  more  extensively  culti- 
vated for  winter  feeding  were  it  not  for  the  difficulty  of 
curing  it,  particularly  in  wet  seasons,  and  its  liability  to 
injury  when  stored  in  the  barn  or  in  stack,  from  the 
readiness  with  which  it  absorbs  moisture.  Ensilaged 
fodder,  on  the  other  hand,  is  exempt  from  the  influence 
of  the  atmospheric  conditions  that  are  so  annoying  in 
the  management  of  dry  fodder,  and  it  is  always  ready 
for  use  when  wanted.  The  relations  of  the  silo  to  the 
general  system  of  management  suggest  many  questions 
of  practical  interest  that  the  farmer  must  carefully  con- 
sider. Every  interest  of  the  farm  has  its  influence,  for 
good  or  ill,  on  every  other  interest,  and  the  aim  should 
be  to  make  each  supplement  the  others  and  thus  aid  in 
increasing  the  aggregate  of  profits.  In  a  large  proper- 


96  SILOS,    EXSILAGE   AND    SILAGE. 

tion  of  cases  the  net  proceeds  of  the  farm  will  depend 
more  upon  the  harmonious  adjustment  of  many  details 
than  on  the  disproportionate  development  of  any  special 
interest. 

Animal  husbandry,  in  one  form  or  another,  must 
become  a  prominent  feature  of  American  farming,  under 
existing  conditions  of  production,  to  secure  the  largest 
immediate  profits,  and  at  the  same  time  conserve  the 
elements  of  fertility  as  a  resource  for  the  crops  of  the 
future.  In  the  feeding  of  animals  the  direct  returns 
in  animal  products  should  not  be  the  only  consideration, 
as  the  value  of  the  residues  in  the  form  of  manure  must 
have  an  important  influence  on  the  ultimate  sum  of  the 
results  of  the  system  of  management. 

The  ensilage  of  green  fodder  may  be  practiced  with 
advantage  if  it  is  made  to  supplement  other  interests  of 
the  farm,  and  is  not  allowed  to  become  the  sole  reliance, 
or  the  dominant  factor  in  production.  To  successfully 
meet  fche  world-wide  competition  in  agricultural  products 
that  is  forced  upon  the  farmer  by  the  rapid  development 
of  the  means  of  transportation,  and  cannot  be  evaded, 
every  resource  must  be  utilized,  under  a  well-planned 
system,  and  the  economies  of  the  farm  must  be  studied 
from  every  standpoint. 

With  the  introduction  of  the  silo  should  come  a  sys- 
tematic readjustment  and  modification  of  many  details 
of  the  ordinary  routine  of  practice,  and  the  adoption  of 
improved  methods  in  every  department  and  interest  of 
the  farm.  No  arbitrary,  empirical  rules  can  be  formu- 
lated in  regard  to  the  minutiae  of  farm  management,  but 
good  judgment  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  practical 
farm  economy  will  be  required  in  adjusting  the  various 
interests  to  the  prescribed  conditions  of  the  locality,  in 
order  to  realize  the  largest  net  returns  from  the  aggre- 
gate results. 


INDEX. 


Acid  Fermentation  of  Silage    .        .       .....  89 

Alcoholic  Fermentation        .......       48 

Animal  Husbandry  .....  ...  96 

Asphalt  ..........  tf9 

Bacteria      .....        .        .....  58 

Balloon  Frame       ......    ....       68 

Biological  Changes  in  Ensilage        ......    8 

"Brown  Hay"       .........        18 

Budding  Fungi  .....        .....  58 

Cagniard  de  la  Tour       ........  42 

Carbonic  Acid  Exhaled  by  Plants    ......  53 

Chemical  Theory  of  Fermentation       .....  47 

Classification  of  Ferments        .......  58 

Classification  of  Microbes    .        .        .....  59 

Coal  Tar     ...........  69 

Cost  of  Silage        .........  88 

Crevat,  M,  on  Ensilage     ........  34 

Crops  preserved  in  Silos        .......  9 

Cultivation  of  Fodder  Corn      .......  83 

Curing  of  Fodder  Corn        .......  95 

Death-point  of  Ferments  ........  61 

Definitions  of  Terms     ........         8 

Doors  of  Silo       .        .        .        .        ......  75 

Dry  Substance  of  Fodder  Corn    .        .        .        .        .        .80 

Duckham,  on  Pulped  Roots      .......  28 

Energy  a  Biological  Factor          ......       55 

Ensilage  Defined        .........    8 


98  INDEX. 

Ensilage  and  Farm  Economy 92 

Ensilage  in  France 32 

Ensilage,  Report  of  Department  of  Agriculture        .        .       37 

Ensilage,  First  Experiments  with  in  U.  S 37 

Ensilage  of  maize  by  M.  Reihlen 31-33 

Equations  of  Fermentation 48 

Farm  Economy  and  Ensilage 92 

Farm  Management 96 

Feeding  Value  of  Silage        .  93 

Fermentation     .  .,.,...  39 

Fermentation,  Cause  of 47 

Fermentation,  Early  Theories 40 

Fermented  Straw  Chaff 25 

Filling  the  Silo  .        . 85 

"  Fission  Fungi" 58 

Fodder  Crops  for  Ensilage 77 

Foundation  of  Silo 70 

Gay-Lussac  on  Fermentation 40 

Goff art,  Auguste,  Book  on  Ensilage  .        .        .        .        •       36 

Harvesting  Fodder  Corn .        .85 

Heat  Developed  in  Silage 89-91 

Heat  of  Fermentation 57 

Heat  of  Plants  and  Animals 51-56 

Helmholtz,  Experiments  by 42 

Houette,  M,  Silos  of 35 

Intermittent  and  Continuous  Heating 61 

Johnston,  Prof.  J.  F.  W.,  on  Green  Feed  ....        19 

Leaves  Preserved  in  Silos  in  Italy 18 

Liebig's  Theories  of  Fermentation 47 

Light  Essential  to  Plant  Growth      .        .        .        .        .        .78 

Maize  for  Ensilage 77 

Maturity  of  Fodder  Corn 83 

Metabolism 51 

Mineral  Pitch 69 

Moulds  on  Surface  of  Silage 90 

Partitions  in  Silos 76 

Pasteur's  Culture  Flasks 46 

Pasteur  on  Fermentation 41-48 

Petroleum  to  Preserve  Wood 69 

Physiology  of  Nutrition  in  Plants    .  ....  78 


INDEX.  99 

Potential  Energy 55 

Preservatives  for  Wood    . 63 

Pressure  of  Silage  on  Walls  of  Silo 71 

Pulped  Roots 28 

Putrefaction,  Process  of 60 

Putrefaction,  not  Caused  by  Air 46 

Reihlen,  Adolph,  First  Ensilage  of  Maize  ....        31 

Relations  of  Plants  and  Animals 84 

Reproduction  of  Microbes 59 

Ripening  of  Fruits     ....*....  53 

Roof  of  Silo .74 

Roots  Pulped  and  Fermented 28 

Saccharomyces 58 

Schizomycetes 58 

Schultze  and  Schwann,  Discoveries 42 

Schroeder  and  Dusch,  Exp.  by 43 

Science  and  Art,  Relations  of .7 

Silage  Defined 8 

Silage,  Weight  of 64 

Silo 8-62 

Silo,  Construction  of 67 

Silo,  Form  and  Size  of 63 

Silo,  Location  of 65 

Silos  for  Preserving  Green  Fodder 18 

Silos  for  Preserving  Indian  Corn  in  America          .        .        .17 

Silos  for  Storing  Grain 9 

Silos  of  Concrete        .  62 

Silos  of  Masonry 62 

Silos  of  M.  Reihlen 33 

Silos  of  Wood 63 

Soluble  Ferments       ..........  50 

"Sour  Hay" 18 

Specific  Ferments 59 

Steaming  of  Feed 94 

Straw  Chaff,  Fermented  .        .        . 25 

Struggle  for  Existence 59 

Sugar  Formed  in  Fruits 54 

"Sweet  Ensilage"        • 87 

Temperature  Favorable  for  Bacteria 6C 

Thermal  Death-point  of  Bacteria 61 

Thick  Seeding 78 

Truss  as  a  Tie  .        14 


100  INDEX. 

Tyndall's  Culture  Chamber 44 

Varieties  of  Corn  for  Ensilage 81-82 

Vilmorin-Andrieux,  Ensilage  in  France          .        .        .        .82 

Walls  of  Silo 71 

Water  in  Fodder  Corn 79 

Water  in  Silo         .  80 

Weight  of  Silage 64 

Weights  and  Cover  of  Silo 88 

Yeast  Granules,  Early  Discoveries 41 

Zymases         .•••••••••  50-58 


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Jarchow,  LL.  D.  The  author  has  fully  described  those  European 
methods  which  have  proved  to  be  most  useful  in  maintaining  the 
superb  forests  of  the  old  world.  This  experience  has  been  adapted 
to  the  different  climates  and  trees  of  America,  full  instructions  be- 
ing given  for  forest  planting  on  our  various  kinds  of  soil  and  sub- 
soil, whether  on  mountain  or  valley.  Illustrated,  12mo.  1.50 

Harris'  Talks  on  Manures. 

By  Joseph  Harris,  M.  S.,  author  of  "Walks  and  Talks  on  the  Farm," 
"Harris  on  the  Pig,"  etc.  Revised  and  enlarged  by  the  author.  A 
series  of  familiar  and  practical  talks  between  the  author  and  the 
Deacon,  the  Doctor,  and  other  neighbors,  on  the  whole  subject  of 
manures  and  fertilizers :  including  a  chapter  especially  written  for 
it,  by  Sir  John  Bennet  Lawes  of  Rothamsted,  England.  Cloth, 
12mo.  1.75 


Truck  Farming  at  the  South. 


A  work  which  gives  the  experience  of  a  successful  grower  of  vege~ 
tables  or  "  truck"  for  Northern  markets.  Essential  to  any  one  who 
contemplates  entering  this  promising  field  of  Agriculture.  By  A. 
Oemler  of  Georgia.  Illustrated,  cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

Sweet  Potato  Culture. 

Giving  full  instructions  from  starting  the  plants  to  harvesting  and 
storing  the  crop.  With  a  chapter  on  the  Chinese  Yam.  By  James 
Fitz,  Keswich,  Va.,  author  of  "Southern  Apple  and  Peach  Culture." 
Cloth,  12mo.  .60 

Heinrich's  Window  Flower  Garden. 

The  author  is  a  practical  florist,  and  this  enterprising  volume  em- 
bodies his  personal  experiences  in  Window  Gardening  during  a 
long  period.  New  and  enlarged  edition.  By  Julius  J.  Heinrich, 
Fully  illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  .75 


4  STANDARD  BOOKS, 

Greenhouse  Construction. 

By  Prof.  L.  R.  Taft.  A  complete  treatise  on  Greenhouse  structures 
and  arrangements  of  the  various  forms  and  styles  of  Plant  Houses 
for  professional  florists  as  well  as  amateurs.  All  the  best  and  most 
approved  structures  are  so  fully  and  clearly  described  that  anyone 
who  desires  to  build  a  Greenhouse  will  have  no  difficulty  in  deter- 
mining the  kind  best  suited  to  his  purpose.  The  modern  and  most 
successful  methods  of  heating  and  ventilating  are  fully  treated 
upon.  Special  chapters  are  devoted  to  houses  used  for  the  growing 
of  one  kind  of  plants  exclusively.  The  construction  of  hotbeds 
and  frames  receives  appropriate  attention.  Over  one  hundred  ex- 
cellent illustrations,  specially  engraved  for  this  work,  make  every 
point  clear  to  the  reader  and  acid  considerably  to  the  artistic  ap- 
pearance of  the  book.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

Bulbs  and  Tuberous-Rooted  Plants. 

By  C.  L.Allen.  A  complete  treatise  on  the  History,  Description, 
Methods  of  Propagation  and  full  Directions  for  the  successful  cul- 
ture of  Bulbs  in  the  garden,  Dwelling  and  Greenhouse.  As  gener- 
ally treated,  bulbs  are  an  expensive  luxury,  while,  when  properly 
managed,  they  afford  the  greatest  amount  of  pleasure  at  the  least 
cost.  The  author  of  this  book  has  for  many  years  made  bulb  grow- 
ing a  specialty,  and  is  a  recognized  authority  on  their  cultivation 
and  management.  The  illustrations  which  embellish  this  work 
have  been  drawn  from  nature,  and  have  been  engraved  especially 
for  this  book.  The  cultural  directions  are  plainly  stated,  practical 
and  to  the  point.  Cloth,  12mo.  2.00 

Henderson's  Practical  Floriculture. 

By  Peter  Henderson.  A  guide  to  the  successful  propagation  and 
cultivation  of  florists'  plants.  The  work  is  not  one  for  florists  and 
gardeners  only,  but  the  amateur's  wants  are  constantly  kept  in 
mind,  and  we  have  a  very  complete  treatise  on  the  cultivation  of 
flowers  under  glass,  or  in  the  open  air,  suited  to  those  who  grow 
flowers  for  pleasure  as  well  as  those  who  make  them  a  matter  of 
trade.  Beautifully  illustrated.  New  and  enlarged  edition.  Cloth, 
12mo.  1.50 

Long's  Ornamental  Gardening  for  Americans. 

A  Treatise  on  Beautifying  Homes,  Rural  Districts  and  Cemeteries. 
A  plain  and  practical  work  at  a  moderate  price,  with  numerous 
illustrations  and  instructions  so  plain  that  they  may  be  readily 
followed.  By  Elias  A.  Long,  Landscape  Architect.  Illustrated, 
Cloth,  12mo.  2.00 

The  Propagation  of  Plants. 

By  Andrew  S.  Fiiller.  Illustrated  with  numerous  engravings.  An 
eminently  practical  and  useful  work.  Describing  the  process  of 
hybridizing  and  crossing  species  and  varieties,  and  also  the  many 
different  modes  by  which  cultivated  plants  may  be  propagated  and 
multiplied.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 


STANDARD   BOOKS.  5 

Parsons  on  the  Rose. 

By  Samuel  B.  Parsons.  A  treatise  on  the  propagation,  culture  and 
history  of  the  rose.  New  and  revised  edition.  In  his  work  upon 
the  rose,  Mr.  Parsons  has  gathered  up  the  curious  legends  concern- 
ing the  flower,  and  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  esteem  in  which  it  was 
held  in  former  times.  A  simple  garden  classification  has  been 
adopted,  and  the  leading  varieties  under  each  class  enumerated 
and  briefly  described.  The  chapters  on  multiplication,  cultivation 
and  training  are  very  full,  and  the  work  is  altogether  one  of  the 
most  complete  before  the  public.  Illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.00 

Henderson's  Handbook  of  Plants. 

This  new  edition  comprises  about  fifty  per  cent,  more  genera  than 
the  former  one,  and  embraces  the  botanical  name,  derivation, 
natural  order,  etc.,  together  with  a  short  history  of  the  different 
genera,  concise  instructions  for  their  propagation  and  culture,  and 
all  the  leading  local  or  common  English  names,  together  with  a 
comprehensive  glossary  of  Botanical  and  Technical  terms.  Plain 
instructions  are  also  given  for  the  cultivation  of  the  principal  veg- 
etables, fruits  and  flowers.  Cloth,  large  8vo.  4.00 

Barry's  Fruit  Garden. 

By  P.  Barry.  A  standard  work  on  Fruit  and  Fruit  Trees ;  the  author 
having  had  over  thirty  years' practical  experience  at  the  head  of 
one  of  the  largest  nurseries  in  this  country.  New  edition  revised 
up  to  date.  Invaluable  to  all  fruit  growers.  Illustrated.  Cloth, 
12mo.  2.00 

Fulton's  Peach  Culture. 

This  is  the  only  practical  guide  to  Peach  Culture  on  the  Delaware 
Peninsula,  and  is  the  best  work  upon  the  subject  of  peach  growing 
for  those  who  would  be  successful  in  that  culture  in  any  part  of 
the  country.  It  has  been  thoroughly  revised  and  a  large  portion  of 
it  rewitteii,  by  Hon.  J.  Alexander  Fulton,  the  author,  bringing  it 
down  to  date.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

Strawberry  Culturist. 

By  Andrew  S.  Fuller.  Containing  the  History,  Sexuality,  Field  and 
Garden  Culture  of  Strawberries,  forcing  or  pot  culture,  how  to 
grow  from  seed,  hybridizing,  and  all  information  necessary  to  en- 
able everybody  to  raise  their  own  strawberries,  together  with  a 
description  of  new  varieties  and  a  list  of  the  best  of  the  old  sorts. 
Fully  illustrated.  Flexible  cloth,  12mo.  .25 

Fuller's  Small  Fruit  Culturist. 

By  Andrew  S.  Fuller.  Rewritten,  enlarged,  and  brought  fully  up  to 
the  present  time.  The  book  covers  the  whole  ground  of  propagating 
Small  Fruits,  their  culture,  varieties,  packing  for  market,  etc.  It  is 
very  finely  and  thoroughly  illustrated,  and  makes  an  admirable 
companion  to  "The  Grape  Culturist,"  by  the  same  well  known 
author.  1*50 


6  STANDARD   BOOKS. 

Fuller's  Grape  Culturist. 

By  A.  S.  Fuller.  This  is  one  of  the  very  best  of  works  on  the  Cul- 
ture of  the  Hardy  Grapes,  with  full  directions  for  all  departments 
of  propagation,  culture,  etc.,  with  150  excellent  engravings,  illus- 
trating planting,  training,  grafting,  etc.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

Quinn's  Pear  Culture  for  Profit. 

Teaching  How  to  Raise  Pears  intelligently,  and  with  the  best  re- 
sults, how  to  find  out  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  best  methods  of 
preparing  it,  the  best  varieties  to  select  under  existing  conditions, 
the  best  modes  of  planting,  pruning,  fertilizing,  grafting,  and  utiliz- 
ing the  ground  before  the  trees  come  into  bearing,  and  finally  of 
gathering  and  packing  for  market.  Illustrated.  By  P.  T.  Quinii, 
practical  horticulturist.  Cloth,  12mo  1.00 

Husmann's  American  Grape  Growing  and  Wine-Making. 

By  George  Husmann  of  Talcoa  vineyards,  Napa,  California.  New 
and  enlarged  edition.  With  contributions  from  well  know  grape- 
growers,  giving  a  wide  range  of  experience.  The  author  of  this 
book  is  a  recognized  authority  on  the  subject.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

White's  Cranberry  Culture. 

Contents: — Natural  History.— History  of  Cultivation.— Choice  of 
Location.— Preparing  the  Ground.— Planting  the  Vines.— Manage- 
ment of  Meadows. — Flooding.— Enemies  and  Difficulties  Overcome. 
— Picking. — Keeping.— Profit  and  Loss. — Letters  from  Practical 
Growers. — Insects  Injurious  to  the  Cranberry.  By  Joseph  J.  White, 
a  practical  grower.  Illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  New  and  revised 
edition.  1.25 

Fuller's  Practical  Foresteyi 

A  Treatise  on  the  Propagation,  Planting  and  Cultivation,  with  a 
description  and  the  botanical  and  proper  names  of  all  the  indigen- 
ous trees  of  the  United  States,  both  Evergreen  and  Deciduous,  with 
Notes  on  a  large  number  of  the  most  valuable  Exotic  Species.  By 
Andrew  S.  Fuller,  author  of  "Grape  Culturist,"  "Small  Fruit  Cul- 
turist," etc.  1.50 

Stewart's  Irrigation  for  the  Farm,  Garden  and  Orchard. 

This  work  is  offered  to  those  American  Farmers  and  other  cultiva- 
tors of  the  soil  who,  from  painful  experience,  can  readily  appre- 
ciate the  losses  which  result  from  the  scarcity  of  water  at  critical 
periods.  By  Henry  Stewart.  Fully  illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

Quinn's  Money  in  the  Garden. 

By  P.  T.  Quinn.  The  author  gives  in  a  plain,  practical  style,  in- 
structions on  three  distinct,  although  closely  connected  branches 
of  gardening— the  kitchen  garden,  market  garden,  and  field  culture, 
from  successful  practical  experience  for  a  term  of  years.  Illustra- 
ted. Cloth,  12mo.  1*50 


STANDARD  BOOKS.  7 

Roe's  Play  and  Profit  in  My  Garden. 

By  E.  P.  Roe.  The  author  lakes  us  to  his  garden  on  the  rocky  hill- 
sides in  the  vicinity  of  West  Point,  and  shows  us  how  out  of  it, 
after  four  years'  experience,  he  evoked  a  profit  of  $1,000,  and  this 
while  carrying  on  pastoral  and  literary  labor.  It  is  very  rarely 
that  so  much  literary  taste  and  skill  are  mated  to  so  much  agri- 
cultural experience  and  good  sense.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

The  New  Onion  Culture. 

By  T.  Greiner.  This  new  work  is  written  by  one  of  our  most  suc- 
cessful agriculturists,  and  is  full  of  new,  original,  and  highly  valu- 
able matter  of  material  interest  to  every  one  who  raises  onions  in 
the  family  garden,  or  by  the  acre  for  market.  By  the  process  here 
described  a  crop  of  2000  bushels  per  acre  can  be  as  easily  raised  as 
500  or  600  bushels  in  the  old  way.  Paper,  12mo.  .50 

The  Dairyman's  Manual. 

By  Henry  Stewart,  author  of  "The  Shepherd's  Manual,"  "Irriga- 
tion," etc.  A  useful  and  practical  work,  by  a  writer  who  is  well 
known  as  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  subject  of  which  he  writes. 
Cloth,  12mo.  2.00 

Allen's  American  Cattle. 

Their  History,  Breeding  and  Management.  By  Lewis  F.  Allen. 
This  book  will  be  considered  indispensable  by  every  breeder  of 
live  stock.  The  large  experience  of  the  author  in  improving  the 
character  of  American  herds  adds  to  the  weight  of  his  observations 
and  has  enabled  him  to  produce  a  work  which  will  at  once  make 
good  his  claims  as  a  standard  authority  on  the  subject.  New  and 
revised  edition.  Illustrated,  Cloth,  12mo.  2.50 

Profits  in  Poultry. 

Useful  and  ornamental  Breeds  and  their  Profitable  Management. 
This  excellent  work  contains  the  combined  experience  of  a  num- 
ber of  practical  men  in  all  departments  of  poultry  raising.  It  is 
profusely  illustrated  and  forms  a  unique  and  important  addition 
to  our  poultry  literature.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.00 

The  American  Standard  of  Perfection. 

The  recognized  standard  work  on  Poultry  in  this  country,  adopted 
by  the  American  Poultry  Association.  It  contains  a  complete  de- 
scription of  all  the  recognized  varieties  of  fowls,  including  turkeys, 
ducks  and  geese ;  gives  instructions  to  judges ;  glossary  of  technical 
terms  and  nomenclature.  It  contains  244  pages,  handsomely 
bound  in  cloth,  embellished  with  title  in  gold  on  front  cover.  $1.00 

Stoddard's  An  Egg  Farm. 

By  H.  H.  Stoddard.  The  management  of  poultry  in  large  numbers, 
being  a  series  of  articles  written  for  the  AMERICAN  AGRICULTUR- 
IST, niustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  -60 


8  STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Stewart's  Shepherd's  Manual. 

A  Valuable  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Sheep  for  American  fanners 
and  sheep  growers.  It  is  so  plain  that  a  farmer  or  a  farmer's  son 
who  has  never  kept  a  sheep,  may  learn  from  its  pages  how  to 
manage  a  nock  successfully,  and  yet  so  complete  that  even  the  ex- 
perienced shepherd  may  gather  many  suggestions  from  it.  The 
results  of  personal  experience  of  some  years  with  the  characters 
of  the  various  modern  breeds  of  sheep,  and  the  sheep  raising  capa- 
bilities of  many  portions  of  our  extensive  territory  and  that  of 
Canada— and  the  careful  study  of  the  diseases  to  which  our  sheep 
are  chiefly  subject,  with  those  by  which  they  may  eventually  be 
afflicted  through  unforseen  accidents— as  well  as  the  methods  of 
management  called  for  under  our  circumstances,  are  carefully 
described.  By  Henry  Stewart.  Illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

Wright's  Practical  Poultry-Keeper. 

By  L.  Wright.  A  complete  and  standard  guide  to  the  management 
of  poultry,  for  domestic  use,  the  markets  or  exhibition.  It  suits  at 
once  the  plain  poulterer,  who  must  make  the  business  pay,  and  the 
chicken  fancier  whose  taste  is  for  gay  plumage  and  strange,  bright 
birds.  Illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  $2.00 

Harris  on  the  Pi£. 

New  Edition.  Revised  and  enlarged  by  the  author.  The  points  of 
the  various  English  and  American  breeds  are  thoroughly  discussed, 
and  the  great  advantage  of  using  thoroughbred  males  clearly 
shown.  The  work  is  equally  valuable  to  the  farmer  who  keeps  but 
few  pigs,  and  to  the  breeder  on  an  extensive  scale.  By  Joseph 
Harris.  Illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

The  Farmer's  Veterinary  Adviser. 

A  guide  to  the  Prevention  and  Treatment  of  Disease  in  Domestic 
Animals.  This  is  one  of  the  best  works  on  this  subject,  and  is  es- 
pecially designed  to  supply  the  need  of  the  busy  American  Farm- 
er, who  can  rarely  avail  himself  of  the  advice  of  a  Scientific  Veter- 
inarian. It  is  brought  up  to  date  and  treats  of  the  Prevention  of 
Disease  as  well  as  of  the  Remedies.  By  Prof.  Jas.  Law.  Cloth. 
Crown,  8vo.  3.00 

Dadd's  American  Cattle  Doctor. 

By  George  H.  Dadd,  M.  D.,  Veterinary  Practitioner.  To  help  every 
man  to  be  his  own  cattle-doctor;  giving  the  necessary  information 
for  preserving  the  health  and  curing  the  diseases  of  oxen,  cows, 
sheep  and  swine,  with  a  great  variety  of  original  recipes,  and  val- 
uable information  on  farm  and  dairy  management.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

Cattle  Breeding:. 

By  "Wm.  Warfield.  This  work  is  by  common  consent  the  most 
valuable  and  pre-eminently  practical  treatise  on  cattle-breeding 
ever  published  in  America,  being  the  actual  experience  and  ob- 
servance of  a  practical  man.  Cloth,  12mo.  2.00 


STANDARD  BOOKS.  9 

Dadd's  American  Cattle  Doctor. 

A  complete  work  on  all  the  Diseases  of  Cattle,  Sheep  and  Swine,  in- 
cluding every  Disease  peculiar  to  America,  and  embracing  all  the 
latest  information  on  the  Cattle  Plague  and  Trichina;  containing 
also  a  guide  to  symptoms,  a  table  of  Weights  and  Measures,  and  a 
list  of  Valuable  Medicines.  By  George  H.  Dadd,  V.  S.,  twenty-five 
years  a  leading  Veterinary  Surgeon  in  England  and  the  United 
States,  and  author  of  the  "American  Reformed  Horse  Book."  Cloth, 
octavo.  Illustrated.  2.50 

Cattle  and  Their  Diseases. 

By  A.  J.  Murray,  M.  R.  C.  V.  S.  Breeding  and  Management  of  Cat- 
tle. This  is  one  of  the  very  few  works  devoted  exclusively  to 
cattle  diseases,  and  will  be  particularly  valuable  to  cattlemen 
for  that  reason.  It  is  written  in  plain,  simple  language,  easily  un- 
derstood by  any  farmer,  while  it  is  learned  and  technical  enough 
to  satisfy  any  veterinary  surgeon.  Cloth,  12mo.  2.00 

Silos,  Ensilage,  and  Silage. 

A  practical  Treatise  on  the  Ensilage  of  Fodder  Corn,  containing 
the  most  recent  and  authentic  information  on  this  important  sub- 
ject, by  Manly  Miles,  M.  D.  F.  R.  M.  S.  Illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  .50 

Manures. 

How  to  Make  and  How  to  Use  them.  By  Frank  W.  Sempers.  The 
author  has  made  a  concise,  practical  handbook  containing  the  lat- 
est researches  in  agriculture  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  reports 
of  the  agricultural  experiment  stations  have  furnished  many  val- 
uable suggestions.  Both  commercial  and  home-made  manures 
are  fully  described,  and  many  formulas  for  special  crops  and  soils 
are  given.  Price  postpaid,  paper  50  cents,  cloth.  1.00 

Potato  Pests. 

No  farmer  can  afford  to  be  without  this  little  book.  It  gives  the 
most  complete  account  of  the  Colorado  Beetle  anywhere  to  be 
found,  and  includes  all  the  latest  discoveries  as  to  the  habits  of  the 
insect  and  the  various  means  for  its  destruction.  It  is  well  illustra- 
ted, and  exhibits  in  a  map  the  spread  of  the  insect  since  it  left  its 
native  home.  By  Prof.  C.  V.  Riley,  Paper.  .50 

Your  Plants. 

Plain  and  Practical  Directions  for  the  Treatment  of  Tender  and 
Hardy  Plants  in  the  House  and  in  the  Garden.  By  James  Sheehan. 
The  work  meets  the  wants  of  the  amateur  who  grows  a  few  plants 
in  the  window,  or  has  a  small  flower  garden.  Paper  covers.  .40 

Pedder's  Land-Measurer  for  Farmers. 

A  convenient  Pocket  Companion,  showing  at  once  the  contents  of 
any  piece  of  land,  when  its  length  and  width  are  unknown,  up  to 
1500  feet  either  way,  with  various  other  useful  farm  tables.  Cloth, 
18mo.  & 


10  STANDARD  BOOKS, 

Hop  Culture. 

Plain  directions  given  by  ten  experienced  cultivators.  Revised, 
enlarged  and  edited  by  A.  S.  Fmller.  Forty  engravings.  .30 

Wheat  Culture. 

How  to  double  the  yield  and  increase  the  profits.  By  D.  S.  Curtiss, 
Washington,  D.  C.  Importance  of  the  Wheat  Crop.  Varieties  Most 
Grown  in  the  United  States.  Examples  of  Successful  Wheat  Cul- 
ture. Illustrated.  Paper  covers.  .50 

Starr's  Farm  Echoes. 

By  F.  Ratchford  Starr,  Echo  Farm,  Litchfield,  Ct.     This  handsome 
little  book  tells  how  the  author  turned  from  a  successful  business 
career  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  has  achieved  health,  happiness 
and  prosperity  upon  his  broad  acres  near  Litchfield.    Cloth,  12mo. 
Illustrated.  .50 

The  American  Merino.    For  Wool  or  for  Mutton. 

A  practical  and  most  valuable  work  on  the  selection,  care,  breeding 
and  diseases  of  the  Merino  sheep,  in  all  sections  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  a  full  and  exhaustive  treatise  upon  this  one  breed  of 
sheep.  By  Stephen  Powers.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 

Coburn's  Swine  Husbandry. 

New,  revised  and  enlarged  edition.  The  Breeding,  Rearing,  and 
Management  of  Swine,  and  the  Prevention  and  Treatment  of  their 
Diseases.  It  is  the  fullest  and  freshest  compendium  relating  to 
Swine  Breeding  yet  offered.  By  F.  D.  Coburn.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.75 

Tobacco  Culture:  Full  Practical  Details. 

This  useful  and  valuable  work  contains  full  details  of  every  process 
from  the  Selection  and  Propagation  of  the  Seed  and  Soil  to  the 
Harvesting,  Curing  and  Marketing  the  Crop,  with  illustrative  en- 
gravings of  the  operations.  The  work  was  prepared  by  Fourteen 
Experienced  Tobacco  Growers,  residing  in  different  parts  of  the 
country.  It  also  contains  notes  on  the  Tobacco  Worm,  with  Illus- 
trations. 8vo.  .25 

Keepin?  One  Cow. 

A  collection  of  prize  Essays  and  Selections  from  a  number  of  other 
Essays,  with  editorial  notes,  suggestions,  etc.  This  book  gives  the 
latest  information,  and  in  a  clear  and  condensed  form,  upon  the 
management  of  a  single  Milch  Cow.  Illustrated  with  full  page  en- 
gravings of  the  most  famous  dairy  cows.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.00 

Guenon's  Treatise  on  Milch  Cows. 

A  treatise  on  the  Bovine  Species  in  General.  An  entirely  new 
translation  of  the  last  edition  of  this  popular  and  instructive  book. 
By  Thomas  J.  Hand,  Secretary  of  the  American  Jersey  Cattle  Club. 
With  over  100  illustrations,  especially  engraved  for  this  work. 
Cloth,  t2roo.  1-00 


STANDARD   BOOKS.  11 

Sander's  Horse  Breeding. 

Being  the  general  principles  of  Heredity  applied  to  the  Business  of 
Breeding  Horses  and  the  Management  of  Stallions,  Brood  Mares 
and  Foals.  The  book  embraces  all  that  the  breeder  wishes  to  know 
in  regard  to  the  selection  of  stock,  management  of  the  stallion, 
brood  mare,  and  foal,  and  treatment  of  diseases  peculiar  to  breed- 
ing animals.  By  J.  H.  Sanders.  Cloth,  12mo.  2.00 

Herbert's  Hints  to  Horse  Keepers. 

This  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  popular  works  on  the  horse  pre- 
pared in  this  country.  A  complete  manual  for  horsemen,  embrac- 
ing: How  to  Breed  a  Horse;  How  to  Buy  a  Horse;  How  to  Break  a 
Horse ;  How  to  Use  a  Horse ;  How  to  Feed  a  Horse ;  How  to  Physic  a 
Horse  (Allopathy  or  Homoeopathy) ;  How  to  Groom  a  Horse;  How 
to  Drive  a  Horse ;  How  to  Ride  a  Horse,  etc.  By  the  late  Henry 
William  Herbert,  (Frank  Forester).  Beautifully  Illustrated.  Cloth, 
12mo.  1.75 

Warington's  Chemistry  of  the  Farm. 

Treating  with  the  utmost  clearness  and  conciseness,  and  in  the 
most  popular  manner  possible,  of  the  relations  of  Chemistry  to 
Agriculture,  and  providing  a  welcome  manual  for  those  who, 
while  not  having  time  to  systematically  study  Chemistry,  will 
gladly  have  such  an  idea  as  this  gives  them  of  its  relation  to  oper- 
ations on  the  farm.  By  R.  Warington,  F.  C.  S.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.00 

Farm  Appliances. 

Describing  numerous  Useful  and  Labor-Saving  appliances,  and 
will  be  found  of  great  value  in  every  department  of  Farm  work. 
With  nearly  250  Illustrations.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.00 

Fences,  Gates  and  Bridges. 

A  much-needed  and  valuable  work.  The  descriptions  are  abundantly 
illustrated.  The  book  also  contains  a  synopsis  of  the  Fence  Laws 
of  the  different  States.  Over  100  engravings.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.00 

Farm  Conveniences. 

A  Manual  of  what  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.  Describing  all  manner 
of  Homemade  Aids  to  Farm  Work.  Made  up  of  the  best  ideas  from 
the  experience  of  many  practical  men.  With  over  two  hundred 
engravings.  1.50 

Waring's  Draining  for  Profit  and  Draining  for  Health. 

This  book  is  a  very  complete  and  practial  treatise,  the  directions 
in  which  are  plain  and  easily  followed.  The  subject  of  thorough 
farm  drainage  is  discussed  in  all  its  bearings,  and  also  that  more 
extensive  land  drainage  by  which  the  sanitary  condition  of  any 
district  may  be  greatly  improved,  even  to  the  banishment  of  fever 
and  ague,  typhoid  and  malarial  fever.  By  Geo.  E.  Waring,  Jr. 
Illustrated.  Cloth,  12mo.  1.50 


12  STANDARD   BOOKS. 

The  Dogs  of  Great  Britain,  America  and  Other  Countries. 

New,  enlarged  and  revised  edition.  Their  Breeding,  training  and 
management,  in  health  and  disease;  comprising  all  the  essential 
parts  of  the  two  standard  works  on  the  dog,  by  "Stonehenge."  It 
describes  the  Best  Game  and  Hunting  Grounds  in  America. 
Contains  over  One  Hundred  Beautiful  Engravings,  embracing 
most  noted  Dogs  in  both  continents,  making,  together  with  Chap- 
ters by  American  Writers,  the  most  complete  Dog  Book  ever  pub- 
lished. Cloth,  12mo.  2.00 

American  Bird  Fancier. 

Or  how  to  Breed,  Rear  and  Care  for  Song  and  Domestic  Birds.  This 
valuable  and  important  little  work  for  all  who  are  interested  in 
the  keeping  of  Song  Birds,  has  been  revised  and  enlarged,  and  is 
now  a  complete  manual  upon  the  subject.  All  who  own  valuable 
birds,  or  wish  to  do  so,  will  find  the  new  Fancier  indispensable. 
New,  revised  and  enlarged  edition.  \By  D.  J.  Browne  and  Dr. 
Fuller  Walker.  Illustrated,  paper.  .50 

Gardening:  for  Young  and  Old. 

By  Joseph  Harris.  A  work  intended  to  interest  farmers'  boys  in 
Farm  Gardening,  which  means  a  better  and  more  profitable  form 
of  agriculture.  The  teachings  are  given  in  the  familiar  manner  so 
well  known  in  the  author's  "Walks  and  Talks  on  the  Farm."  Illus- 
trated. Cloth,  12mo.  1.25 

Onions ;  How  to  Raise  Them  Profitably. 

Being  the  Practical  Details,  from  Selection  of  Seed  and  Preparation 
of  Ground  to  Harvesting  and  Marketing  the  Crop,  given  very 
plainly  by  Seventeen  Practical  Onion  Growers  of  long  experience 
residing  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  No  more  valuable  work 
of  its  size  was  ever  issued.  Paper,  8vo.  .20 

Tomato  Culture. 

By  J.  W.  Day,  D.  Cummins,  and  A.  I.  Root.  In  three  parts.  Part 
First — Tomato  Culture  in  the  South.  *Part  Second — Tomato  Cul- 
ture, especially  for  Canning  Factories.  Part  Third— Plant  Growing 
for  Market  and  High  Pressure.  Gardening  in  general.  A  Practical 
Book  for  those  who  work  under  either  Glass  or  Cloth  as  a  Protec- 
tion from  Frost.  135  pages,  illustrated.  Paper,  16m o.  .35 

How  to  Handle  and  Educate  Vicious  Horses. 

By  Oscar  R.  Gleason.  Directions  for  Handling  Vicious  Horses, 
Breaking  Colts,  Teaching  Horses  Tricks,  etc.  Illustrated.  Cloth, 
12mo.  .50 

The  Family  Horse. 

Its  Stabling,  Care  and  Feeding.  By  Geo.  A.  Martin.  A  Practical 
Manual,  full  of  the  most  useful  information.  Illustrated.  Cloth 
12mo.  1.00 


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